


Someone To Catch You

by brittishmenorbust



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Blüdhaven, Detective Dick Grayson, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Minor Violence, Protectiveness, Slow Burn, not much, some smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 46,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22427818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittishmenorbust/pseuds/brittishmenorbust
Summary: You were happy with your life running the community center in Blüdhaven mostly by yourself. But when Dick Grayson, famed adopted son and heir to the Wayne fortune comes to volunteer, you're more than a little skeptical of him.What will you make of this volunteer?
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Reader, Nightwing/Reader
Comments: 41
Kudos: 183





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, disclaimers:
> 
> I love Nightwing and I've watched Titans and read a decent amount of comics, but I am by no means a canon expert. I ignored the other Robins just cuz I don't know much about them and didn't want to do them disservice. I probably also took some liberties with Dick's own fame as Bruce's adopted son, I'm not sure how much that affects him in the comics.
> 
> Second disclaimer, I am asexual, so if you're looking for detailed smut, you won't find it here! Just a nice emotional connection with a hint of a physical relationship.

“No,” you laughed at your boss over morning coffee.

“(Y/N),” he said sternly, “It’s good for us. And he’s a good guy, he’ll help the kids.”

You rolled your eyes at your old friend and mentor, Charlie, and sighed. 

“I just don’t see what a rich white boy wants to do in a community center in Blüdhaven,” you muttered. 

Charlie shrugged, allowing a small smile. 

“Who knows,” he said. “Volunteer apparently. But with Dick Grayson here, the donations are bound to start coming in. If only from women that want to come meet him,” he laughed. 

“Well, good thing you’re a married man,” you smirked, looking at the picture of Charlie and his husband on his desk. 

Charlie seemed a little lost in thought for a moment while looking at the same picture, but soon spoke up. 

“Did you take the donations to the bank this month?” he asked. You shook your head. 

“I was going to do it Friday, I have to head that way for an errand anyway. That okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said. “It’s not a lot, but it’ll keep the lights on.”

You nodded, looking at the paint peeling off the walls, and feeling the humidity from the broken air conditioner you didn’t have the budget to fix.

“When does he start?” you asked, dreading the answer. You had this place running like clockwork, albeit at the expense of all your energy each day, but still.

There was a knock on the threshold of the door, and a voice answered, “Now?”

You turned to see a face you knew quite well from the papers and television staring hopefully at you. He’d tried to dress down, but with his plain gray t shirt, he was wearing jeans that cost more than your rent. His hair seemed carelessly tossed, though you could tell there was product in it. He smiled at you, but you couldn’t quite manage it back.

You gave him your name as you shook his hand, and he gave his. 

“I know who you are,” you laughed bitterly. 

“(Y/N),” Charlie said as a warning to be friendly, “Why don’t you show Mr. Grayson here the grand tour?”

You finished your coffee and placed the mug on Charlie’s desk before shooting him a look and turning to Dick. 

“Right this way, Mr. Grayson,” you said, not waiting for him to catch up after saying his goodbyes to Charlie. 

“Uh, you can call me Dick,” he said, after jogging a bit to catch up.

“I’m shocked you don’t go by Richard,” you smirked. “Who under the age of 85 is named Dick?”

Expecting him to take offense, you were surprised when he laughed.

“Fair point,” he allowed. “It’s just what everyone’s always called me.”

You rounded the corner and started the tour.

“In here you’ll find our court, mostly used for basketball, sometimes volleyball, badminton, etcetera,” you said, opening the door to a shabby court.

“Nice,” he said, unconvincingly. 

“I’m sure it’s not what you’re used to, but it works just fine,” you muttered, unable to rein in your bitterness.

He studied you for a moment but said nothing. You continued down the hallway to a smaller room. Bringing him inside, you showed him the various tables and work stations.

“This is our home economics room,” you explained. “We teach kids how to sew, sometimes how to make simple meals, teach them what’s healthy and how to get it at an affordable price.”

“You teach them to sew?” he asked. 

“We can’t all afford designer jeans, Dick,” you said. “Sometimes it’s mend the hole in your shirt, or go without it.”

You were going to continue on, but he gently grabbed your arm. Your heart rate skyrocketed, and you pulled back, tears forming in your eyes before you could tell your body it wasn’t under attack. 

“Don’t touch me,” you almost yelled instinctively. You saw Dick draw back, recoiling in horror at his gentle touch. 

“I’m… I’m sorry, I was just going to ask you… Are you okay?” he asked. 

You closed your eyes and took a breath, as your time in therapy had taught you, and answered when you were ready.    
“I just don’t like being touched,” you said. That was all the explanation you owed, if any, to him. “What were you going to ask me?”

He looked almost guilty now, like he didn’t want to, but you held your gaze, telling him to answer.

“I was going to ask if you have a problem with me,” he said. “You keep referencing my family, well, my adopted family… I can’t help who I was adopted by,” he shrugged. 

“And you’re dealing with that wealth disparity guilt by, what, volunteering here for a few weeks?” you guessed. “And then you can run back to Mr. Wayne and feel better about your six course meals and private jets?”

“I plan on staying for a long time,” he answered quietly. “If you’ll have me.”

You eyed him carefully, trying to assess if he was serious. 

“We’ll see,” was all you allowed, though you felt your guard lower a little. You hadn’t moved since you’d screamed. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, taking a step back to allow you some more space. 

“Yes,” you answered, annoyed at his seemingly genuine concern. 

Despite your initial distaste for him, he seemed actually very nice, and it was not helping your grudge against him. You checked your watch and realized it was almost time for your first scheduled activity of the day. 

“You’re welcome to hang out with Charlie for an hour,” you offered. “Or you can come watch a senior citizen’s water aerobics class I have to go teach.”

His smiled and let out a little laugh.

“I think this shadowing experience would be quite incomplete without it,” he said. 

“Alright,” you shrugged, feeling a little lighter. “But don’t blame me for all the old women who are going to hit on you.”

He followed you into the indoor swimming facility. You wouldn’t have thought that Blüdhaven would have had such luxuries, but back in the 80s when this place was built, there were some serious benefactors. Back when the city wasn’t so terrible.

You led Dick into the room, hearing your shoes change sounds once you hit the wet concrete. The water was still, and the air smelled like chlorine.

“I have to get changed, but feel free to sit on any of the benches and hang out,” you offered.

He nodded and you went to go get changed. You put a robe on, and headed back out to the pool. When you emerged, a few of the seniors had started to arrive. Some had come in their bathing suits, others were heading for the locker rooms.

You saw one of your more sociable students talking to Dick. He caught your eye and smiled briefly before you approached them. 

“I see you’ve met my most enthusiastic aerobics student,” you said, patting Ethel on the shoulder as you came to stand next to her.

“What a nice young man,” Ethel praised, staring up at Dick who was quite a bit taller than you both. “Is he coming to the dance this weekend?”

“The dance?” Dick looked at you with a mischievous smirk. 

“No, Ethel, he’s busy,” you said. 

“This weekend?” he asked. “I’m free as a bird actually.”

Well, you’d tried to get him out of it at least. 

“It’s a senior’s dance,” you explained.

“I’m bringing my granddaughter, Gracie,” Ethel said enthusiastically. “I would love for you to meet her. She’s very beautiful, and she’s smart as a whip!”

Dick chuckled and shook his head. 

“I don’t really date, Ethel,” he said. 

“I have a grand-nephew too,” she winked.

“No, no,” he laughed. “I just don’t date, as a rule, but thanks for looking out for me.”

Ethel looked at you as if you knew why this might be, but then glanced back at Dick. 

“Shame,” she muttered. “Well, perhaps I’ll steal a dance from you myself then.”

“It’s a date,” he promised.

Ethel smiled and made her way to the pool steps. You smiled at Dick, glad he’d been kind to her. 

“Hey, you promised I’d be hit on, not set up,” he smirked. “Ethel barely looked at me.”

Despite yourself, you laughed. 

“Yeah well, plenty of old fish in the sea,” you nodded towards the full pool. “Can you hang this up for me?” you asked, giving him your robe. 

If you hadn’t been looking carefully, you would have missed the microsecond that his gaze drifted over your exposed skin. It didn’t take long, but something told you he had looked more carefully than if he had stared. 

You blushed involuntarily. It wasn’t like you to feel self conscious about your body, and it wasn’t that you felt badly about the way you looked, but you were very  _ conscious _ of his sharp intake of breath when he saw you and his fleeting gaze.

“Thanks,” you muttered before jumping in the water. 

You lost yourself in your lesson, showing the seniors how to move in the water, different variations for different mobility levels. It was fun, as it always was. What surprised you was when you looked at Dick, he seemed to be enjoying it as well. He seemed content, happy to watch you and the seniors. 

When the lesson was done, you grabbed a towel and walked over to him. 

“I’ll have to bring a suit next time,” he laughed. “Seems like a good work out.”

You rolled your eyes and laughed.

“Yeah well, your workout’s just beginning,” you said. “You’re taking lead for the basketball practice once the junior high kids get out of school.”

He looked intrigued, and nodded. 

“I can do that.”   
“I figured,” you said. “You seem the jock type.”

He put his hand on his chest and winced. 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he said.

You took in a breath, thinking of one particular jock, and let it out. 

“It can be,” you said, more to yourself than to him. “I’ll be back, just have to change.”

You left him alone in the pool while you changed, and met him in the same spot.

“We got some time to kill this afternoon,” you said. “You any good with fixing stuff?”

“I am,” he nodded. “What’s broken?”

“Everything,” you laughed. “But let’s start with the air conditioner.”

You started the walk to the side of the building with the unit and fell into an easy silence.

“Didn’t you used to be a police officer?” you asked when it occurred to you. “Shouldn’t you be doing that?”

“I was a detective,” he nodded. “Took a sabbatical.”

“Ah,” you nodded. 

“Just needed a change,” he shrugged. 

“Every day is different here,” you assured him. “It’ll be a change every day.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” he smiled.

You led him outside once you’d grabbed some tools, and watched him take a look at the thing. At first you thought he might have just been bluffing that he knew what he was doing, but he looked at it for a few minutes and stood back up.

“Just needs a new part,” he said. “We can go pick it up if we have time. I can install it, easy.”

“Shit, okay,” you nodded. “I thought this was going to cost like hundreds of dollars.”

“I mean it would, if you had a licensed person do it,” he laughed. 

“You’re not gonna accidentally blow us up, are you?” you asked, semi-jokingly.

“No,” he promised. “I may have been raised in a fancy house, but our shit still broke, and Bruce insisted that I learn as many trades as I could. He taught me to always be prepared.”

“Well, there’s a hardware shop in walking distance if you don’t mind the heat,” you said, noting the temperature of June in Blüdhaven.

“Lead the way,” he offered. 

You walked down and got the part. Dick installed it, and you turned the AC back on. 

“Alright, I’m starting to change my mind about you, Mr. Grayson,” you said. 

“All it took was a little cool bribery,” he smiled. 

You popped your head into Charlie’s office.    
“Hear that?” you asked, smiling.

“You fix that?” he asked, flabbergasted. 

“No, oh my god, no,” you laughed. “It was Dick.”

“Damn, okay, give him a raise.”

“He’s a volunteer,” you pointed out. 

“Give him a cookie,” Charlie joked.

You laughed and left the office, heading down to the gym with Dick. The kids were starting to arrive as well, and you greeted most of them with high fives. 

“Where’s Charlie?” one asked. 

“We’ve got a new volunteer,” you said, gesturing to Dick. He waved, somewhat nervously. “Now, the washer and dryer are broken so it’s gonna be shirts and skins today, I’m afraid. We only have enough jerseys for half so count off and, uh, listen to Dick I guess.”

You walked to the bleachers to see what he would do. To your surprise, he took charge immediately. The kids counted off and formed their teams, and Dick started to run it as if he’d been a coach his entire life. They started with a few laps around the court, then a few practice shots to warm up before getting into a game.

One of the kids, Marcus, went to take a shot and missed.    
“It’s alright, buddy, try again,” Dick said encouragingly. 

Marcus looked unreasonably angry.

“Fucking hate this game,” he yelled, pushing away one of his friends who’d tried to calm him down. Something seemed off, and Dick hesitated, so you got up and walked over to Marcus. 

“Hey,” you said quietly, pulling him away from the kids. “Have you eaten today?”

Marcus bit his lip and refused to look at you. You could feel Dick’s gaze on you. 

“Did you eat anything?” you asked again. 

“No,” he admitted. “Nothing in the house. School cut the free lunches.”

You nodded, touching his arm gently. 

“Alright,” you announced to the kids. “Pizza’s coming your way after practice, but that means you gotta work for it, so move!”

Dick looked a little stunned, but you motioned for him to keep going. 

“Why don’t you help me pick it up?” you asked Marcus. “We can get a snack on the way, okay?”

He looked mildly embarrassed, but was apparently hungry enough to follow your lead.

“Grab your shirt,” you offered, “And meet my at the front door.”

He nodded and you met him at the door. You handed him a granola bar you’d found in Charlie’s office.

“Mom lost her job again,” he said solemnly as you walked to the pizza place. 

“She’ll get another one,” you said. 

“I just need to turn sixteen and then I can start helping out,” he said. 

You pressed your lips together, thinking.    
“Maybe we can find something for you,” you said. “Under the table, at least for the rest of the year until your birthday.”

His face lit up.   
“Where?” he asked. 

You nodded to the pizza place you were about to walk into. Opening the door, you saw one of only a few friendly faces in Blüdhaven. Sal, the owner of the shop greeted you happily. 

“Whatcha need?” he asked. 

“Give me four larges, put whatever toppings you need to get rid of on there,” you smiled. 

“For the center?” he asked. You nodded, knowing he’d give you a discount. 

As he went to work, you rounded the counter. 

“Hey, do you need anyone?” you asked quietly. “Sweep up, make the dough, anything?”

He eyed the kid behind you and then looked at you. You nodded, as you’d done many times before.

“Course I could,” he said. 

Thanks,” you smiled, and kissed his cheek. 

“Can you start next week?” Sal asked Marcus.

“Yes, sir,” he responded. 

You waited in a booth for your pizzas, and Marcus just kept thanking you.    
“It won’t be much pay,” you warned him. “Just something.”

“Anything’s better than nothing,” he said. “Why’s that guy so nice to you?” he asked. 

“He’s basically my uncle,” you shrugged. “My dad’s best friend since they were little. We grew even closer after my dad died.”

“My dad’s dead too,” Marcus nodded. “Shot in a mugging. I fucking hate this town.”   
“Language,” you said, only out of reflex. “But same.”

“Why do you stay?” he asked. 

“Pizza’s ready,” Sal said. He put the pies on the table. 

“How much?” you asked. 

“Forget about it,” Sal waved you off. 

You shook your head and took out what you had in your wallet, which amounted to a little over twenty dollars.

“All I got right now,” you said. “I’ll get you later.”

“Don’t worry about it, bug,” he said. 

You thanked him and returned back to the center with Marcus, pizzas in hand. When you arrived, you saw the kids playing, but someone had joined them. In Marcus’ absence, Dick had joined the game. On the skin’s team.

You’d be lying if you said his body wasn’t massively impressive. Objectively, he kept himself in amazing shape. But it wasn’t just that. Though you’d never been particularly drawn to athletic types, the way he moved as also mesmerizing. He was so graceful, so fluid. You blinked and turned away before he caught you staring. 

“Anyone hungry?” you asked when they’d seen you enter. 

A bunch of hungry teens surrounded you, taking all the pizzas out of your hand and assembling a line of them on the bleachers. Marcus joined them, leaving you and Dick to watch from afar. 

He was breathing a little heavy as he jogged over to you, and you could smell his scent, his sweat. You tried not to look at him, scared he’d catch you staring at him.

“How often does that happen?” he asked. 

“What? Pizza?”

“How often do kids come here and have their first meal of the day?” 

His tone was serious, and you didn’t want to talk too much about it in front of the kids. 

“A fair amount,” you said quietly. He didn’t look surprised, but rather, almost determined.

“And the center has a budget for pizza parties?” he asked.    
You turned to him, ignoring the perfect body directly in your eyeline, and looked up at him.

“No, it does not,” you shrugged. 

He looked surprised and a little impressed. 

“Let me take care of it next time,” he offered. 

What did he take you for? You weren’t looking for his charity, you could take care of your kids just fine. Still, it was nice of him to offer, you supposed.

“It’s fine,” you said. “The guy who runs the place gives me a break.”

“Still,” he pushed. 

“Dick, it’s fine,” you said, unable to yield your pride to the heir of the Wayne fortune.

You walked away and headed to grab some pizza with the kids. Dick followed slowly after you. 

“Miss, Dick is great,” one of the kids said. 

“Yeah,” another echoed. “Are you gonna keep him around?”

You shrugged, not looking at Dick. 

“He didn’t come with a receipt so I guess we’re stuck with him.”

They laughed, and you heard Dick chuckle slightly too, though you didn't meet his gaze. You were still unsure of him. Sure, he was nice, and admittedly charming, but you just couldn’t be sure of his motives. Did he truly want to help? Or did he just want to alleviate some guilt, or distract himself for a while? You guessed you’d just have to wait and see.

One of the kids was looking at his phone, and showing another some video. 

“Miss, look at this,” he said, showing you the video. It was the vigilante known as Nightwing. “Someone caught him flying around, jumping across buildings an’ shit. That guy’s crazy.”

“He’s something,” you said. 

“You don’t like him?” Dick asked. 

You shrugged. 

“I don’t know. I guess he does some good but lord knows what he’s doing to those criminals. I mean we have a justice system for a reason. Who’s keeping him in check? Who’s double checking his work, you know?”

Dick nodded. 

“That’s fair,” he said. “Seems like he’s doing an okay job so far,” he added. 

“We’ll see,” you said. Apparently your mantra for the day.

“Well I think he’s dope,” Marcus declared. “Any man that can pull of tights has my respect.”

“I think it’s probably more like armor,” Dick said. “Just happens to be tight.”

“Nah, it’s tights,” Marcus laughed.

“You’re probably right,” Dick joined in.

After the kids had finished eating, Dick stuck around to help clean up. 

“Maybe I can help you fix that washing machine,” he offered. 

“That’d be great,” you said. He still had his shirt off, waiting to put it back on when he was a little less sweaty. “Basketball’s Tuesday/Thursday if you want to have those as your volunteer days,” you added. “Maybe you can swing by Thursday morning and fix it then?”

“I can do whatever you’d like,” he said. “I’m just here to help.”

You nodded, starting to suspect that was actually true.

“You’re good with them,” you said. “They’re usually wary of outsiders.”

“Fair enough, I suppose. They seem like good kids.”

“They are,” you sighed. “Just don’t get a lot of opportunities. Or good ones anyway. I like to think that the days they’re here they’re not joining a gang or whatever out there.”

“You’re probably right,” he said. “You’re good with them too. With everyone that comes here.

“It’s nice, helping the people of the city” you shrugged. “I like the people here. Well, the ones that don’t murder, rape and steal,” you ammended with a grimmace.

You finished picking up and headed towards Charlie’s office. 

“I’ll lock up with Charlie, you can head home,” you said. 

“See you Thursday,” he said and waved on his way out.

On your way home you contemplated your new volunteer. Despite your original, and admittedly lingering distrust of him, he came off as genuinely wanting to help. Maybe you’d been quick to judge him just because of his background. 

You made it home, and you made the resolution before you fell asleep, to give him an actual chance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning of minor violence/mentions of domestic abuse/stalking
> 
> also listen, idk about community centers. does this one have a real schedule? no!

Your Wednesday was pretty uneventful. You started on some decorations for the senior dance, cleaned up a bit, and coached the girl’s volleyball practice. Charlie was off, as Wednesdays were slower, and he had something he had to take care of, so it was just you for large stretches of the day. It felt lonelier than usual, you thought. For some reason the time you’d once loved having alone in this place didn’t feel the same. 

You felt yourself actually looking forward to tomorrow, if only to have the washer/dryer fixed. Wednesday dragged on, but you finally went home and came back anew on Thursday. You thought it might actually turn out to be an okay day, until you pulled into the parking lot. 

You saw the familiar car that made your stomach drop to the floor. You saw the back of his head that made your skin crawl. What the fuck was  _ he  _ doing here?

You grabbed your mace, keeping your hand on it inside your purse and slowly got out of the car. The parking lot was empty. You thought about waiting in your car for Charlie, but you didn’t want to have to explain this to him, didn’t want him to have to get involved. You could take care of yourself, you thought. You’d taken a few self defence classes and had your mace. You’d be fine. Still, it felt like the move of a teen in a horror movie to exit your car and make your way to the community center entrance.

You heard the car door open and close followed by his footsteps on the gravel. 

“(Y/N)!” he shouted. 

It didn’t sound as angry as you’d remembered it in your head. His voice was level, friendly even. You turned around to see your ex, Mike. He looked more put together than you’d thought he might. It had only been a couple months, but he had managed to shave and didn’t look completely drunk this morning. 

“Get out of here,” you warned, your hand clutching the mace. 

“I just wanted to talk,” he said, leaning against his car. “Can we please talk?”

“No,” you said, and turned.

That was your mistake, thinking he’d just leave. Instead he sprinted the distance between you and grabbed your arm. Your mind flashed back to the many times he’d done this, grabbed you. His fingers clutched tight, and you gasped at the pain. 

“I want to talk,” he spat through clenched teeth. 

He’d managed to grab the arm that was holding the pepper spray, and you were powerless to move it. Glancing at his face, you saw the friendliness had gone. He was enraged at your dismissal of him. You took a moment and thought about your classes. You knew what you had to do. Stomp on his foot, kick him in the groin. Easy enough, but you’d never hit anyone hard for real. You’d always had to hold back in practice. You told yourself to just go for it, and you were about to, until you heard another voice. 

“Hey,” Dick yelled, crossing the parking lot swiftly, with purpose. 

Mike turned to glare at the interruption, but didn’t let go even a little. 

“Everything alright?” Dick asked, though he knew the answer. You could tell he was trying to just talk his way through this without instigating any violence. 

“It’s fine, pretty boy,” Mike growled. “Mind your business.”

Dick looked almost amused by this and crossed his arms. 

“Your mom teach you to assault women in parking lots, or was that something you picked up on your own?” he asked. 

You tried to wriggle a little, see if he was distracted enough by Dick’s talking to let you go, but he grabbed on tighter, forcing a little whimper out of your lips. 

“This is my woman,” Mike said.

Dick was staring at you now, face riddled with concern at your outcry. 

“I am not, let me go, fucking bastard,” you spat. 

Mike pulled you even closer to him. 

“You heard her,” Dick said, taking a step towards you. “Let her go. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Psh, you?” Mike laughed. 

And before you could process what was happening, Dick had pulled Mike off of you and thrown him to the ground. Mike coughed and rolled over. You blinked, unsure how that had happened so quickly, or what exactly Dick had done to him. 

Dick stepped over Mike and approached you, reaching out with his hand to place on your arm, but thinking better of it. 

“You okay?” he asked. 

You glanced at Mike again who looked like he was about to get up. Without looking, Dick kicked him, ensuring he stayed down. 

“Yeah,” you muttered. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

Dick nodded and gestured towards the door of the center. You walked away, only looking back when you reached the door to see Mike still writhing on the ground. As soon as you got in, you locked the door. You laid your stuff on a bench and leaned against a wall, closing your eyes. When you opened them, Dick was waiting patiently, looking at you. 

“You don’t need to explain,” he said. “But if you want to talk… I’m a good listener.”

You pressed your lips together, considering this. You nodded slowly and made your way to the employee break room. You started the coffee while Dick took a seat at one of the tables.    
“I’m guessing that’s the reason that you flinched when I touched your arm the other day?” he guessed.

You nodded. 

“He was nice when we first met,” you said. “But it didn’t take long before he was telling me what to eat, who to see, where to be.”

Dick just nodded, listening. 

“And I wasn’t about that so I broke up with him. This was months ago, and every so often he’ll pull something like that. And it’s terrifying,” you said, feeling your throat choke up.

You turned away, trying to hide the fact that tears were forming in your eyes. You heard Dick get up and walk over to you. He just stood there, waiting for you if you needed him. And you allowed yourself to. You pressed yourself against his chest, tucking your head under his chin as he wrapped his arms around you. You were shaking, you realized, as you vibrated against him, but he just held you and let you silently cry. 

Pulling away, you wiped your eyes, expecting to see pity on Dick’s features. Instead you saw compassion and a genuine interest in what you were feeling right now. 

“Thank you,” you muttered. 

“Anytime,” he answered quietly. 

You were both silent for a moment before you went to the window to check the parking lot. It was empty of both Mike and his car. 

“Do you ever call the police?” Dick asked. You laughed hollowly. 

“If I’m not in the ICU, they don’t care,” you assured him. “There’s bigger fish to fry in this god forsaken city in their minds.”

Dick nodded knowingly. 

“Does he know where you live?” he asked. And for a moment, you realized you’d forgotten that he was a detective. 

“I don’t think so?” you guessed. “I moved after we broke up, but I wouldn’t put it past him to stalk me again. I mean, that’s why I was granted a restaining order.”

“Do you have protection at home?” he asked. 

You blinked, realizing he thought Mike might be a real threat. You’d never really thought he’d attack you at home, he’d always reached out over the phone or at your work.

“Uh, no,” you said. “Guns aren’t really my thing. I have a heavy bat and tons of mace though.”

Dick nodded.

“That’s good. Maybe an alarm system too, even a cheap one.”

“You think he’ll come after me again?” you asked. 

“I do,” he said solemnly. 

You sighed heavily and took that into consideration. 

“I’ll look into it, thanks,” you said. After a beat you said, “Well, I think that’s enough melancholy drama for the day. What do you say we continue our new tradition of you magically fixing every broken thing around here?”

The corners of his lips turned up a little at that and he nodded. 

“To the laundry room,” he prompted.

Within the hour, he’d fixed the washer and dryer, barely breaking a sweat. You’d talked briefly while he did so about lighter subjects, and the mood seemed to even out from this morning. You ate lunch together with Charlie and Dick before settling in to work on some of the decorations for the senior dance. 

You’d already started a little the day before, but there was more to go. 

“Under the sea theme, huh?” Dick asked, seeing the green and blue colors, and sea-themed banners.

“Turns out old ladies can’t get enough of Aquaman,” you shrugged. “Who knew.”

Dick laughed. 

“I’m more of an Aqualad man myself,” he joked. 

“I’m not sure why they’re not into our city’s own hero,” you mused. “But I guess the grass is always greener, or rather, the oceans are always… bluer?” you laughed. 

“So now he’s a hero?” Dick asked playfully. “The other day he was a vigilante with no checks or balances.”

You rolled your eyes. 

“Vigilante with no checks or balances is a mouthful,” you said. “He’s hero enough. It’s a strange time we live in, isn’t it?” you smirked.

“It is indeed,” he agreed. 

You started blowing up balloons and hanging streamers together. 

“Ethel’s going to be quite disappointed when you don’t immediately marry her granddaughter,” you teased.

“Maybe I’ll marry Ethel,” he laughed.

“Oh you easily could, I think she’s in love with you.”

“Well it’s mutual.”

“She’s a catch, you saw her in the water aerobics.”

He laughed. 

“Too bad you don’t date,” you shrugged. “Why is that, exactly, if you don’t mind me asking. I mean… you know why I don’t date,” you shuddered. 

He took a moment to think about it. 

“Things have just always ended badly in the past,” he said solemnly. “Usually I hurt people. Not on purpose of course, but… they get hurt one way or another. And I’m done doing that.”

You nodded understandingly. 

“I get it,” you said. “But you know what might help?”

“What?”

“Dating a woman who’s been through a world war.”

He chuckled and the two of you finished what you could for the decorations before the kids got there for basketball practice.

You watched the ease with which he talked to the kids. It was impressive, but then again, you guessed he’d had to talk to a lot of different people as a cop. Still, he was a natural leader, and the kids both wanted and needed that.

The kids finished up, leaving you and Dick to gather the jerseys for the now functioning laundry. 

“Hey, don't feel obligated at all, but if you’re around tomorrow, I could use your help finishing up those decorations for the dance.”

“Sure,” he smiled. “Glad to help.”

“Thanks,” you said, heading to the door, ready to close up. “See you tomorrow then.”

You left the center and headed home.

When you returned in the morning, you were pleased to see the absence of Mike’s car. Dick had beat you there, and was holding a box of something. 

“Whatcha got?” you asked. 

He opened the box to reveal donuts from the fancy shop around the corner. 

“I thought it might be a little rough pulling into the lot after yesterday,” he said. “So I thought I’d try to make it the opposite of yesterday.”

You were openly surprised by this thoughtfulness and smiled as you grabbed a donut. 

“You know, I’m glad we lost that receipt for you,” you joked. “Turns out we won’t be needing to return you.”

“Bribe you with food,” he nodded playfully. “Noted.”

“Food and fixing things,” you laughed. “I’m a simple girl.” 

He followed you into the center and laid the donuts on Charlie’s desk as a nice surprise for him too when he came in. 

“So, decoration duty?” Dick asked. 

“I hope you don’t think I’m going overboard,” you laughed. “I just know a lot of the seniors have dates, and I sort of want them to feel like they’re in high school again, you know?”

“I think it’s sweet,” Dick smiled.

“Well good, ‘cause I set aside the whole day for it,” you laughed. “Charlie’s taking care of everything else today.”

“Well, let’s give them the best Aqua-themed party they’ve ever had,” Dick grinned.

He followed you to the gym and the two of you spent the morning putting up decorations. It was a crappy day outside, windy and rainy, as the afternoon progressed, and it grew rather cozy in the gym. 

“Feeling those high school dance vibes yet?” you asked him, as you took a look at what you’d accomplished. 

“I wouldn’t really know,” he laughed. “But it’s what the movies looked like.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t you go to school?” you asked. 

“Home schooled,” he shrugged. “But from all the teen angst in the movies, I’m not sure I exactly missed out.”

“Of course you missed out!” you laughed, grabbing his arm. His gaze flickered down to the touch for just a moment. “All those hormones in one gym. The butterflies, the awkward slow dancing. Oh boy are you in for a treat.”

“I hardly think there’ll be as many hormones,” he jested. 

“You’d be surprised,” you wriggled your eyebrows.

Your phone beeped, reminding you to take the donations to the bank. 

“Hey, I gotta run to the bank, drop off the donations, but you can head home, I think we’re good here. Dance starts tomorrow at four, so maybe get here like three-thirty?”

“Do you want me to come with you to the bank?” he offered. “At the very least I can hold your umbrella.”   
“Oh no, it’ll be fine,” you promised. “It’s just down the street. But thanks.”

You’d already made him come in an extra day, you didn’t want him feeling like he had to babysit you as you walked down a street, even if it was a more dangerous one. He seemed to be assessing you, as if sensing that you might be exaggerating your lack of need for him. 

“Okay,” he said finally, throwing his hands up. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

He grabbed his bag and headed for the door while you headed for the safe. It was actually a good month this time around, you realized. You had a hefty envelope in your hands that barely fit in your purse. Looking outside, you realized the umbrella you’d brought would be useless in the wind. You pulled your coat as tightly around you as you could and opened the door to face the rain. The streets were nearly empty even though it was the middle of the day. Only insane people were out in this weather. And with that thought came a strange prickle of the hairs on the back of your neck.

Someone was watching you, you thought.    
No, don’t be silly. Still. It felt like it.

You turned around and saw a figure a little ways behind you. It was hard to see in the rain, but it looked to be a man. Just another citizen, you promised yourself. Relax. No one knew you were carrying a few hundred dollars. Still, would that matter? People were mugged for less.

Your hand clutched the mace in your purse and you tried to remember your evasive moves from class. You kept glancing behind you, but every time you did, the wind sprayed water into your face. It wasn’t far to the bank, but that didn’t matter. 

As you passed an alley, you felt yourself pushed into it, presumably by the man who’d been behind you. You turned around, and barely made out his features in the shadows of the alley and through the rain. You didn't need your sight to hear the click of his revolver though. 

“Money, now,” he said. 

“I don’t have any,” you lied. 

If you were fast enough you could mace him before he shot you, but that seemed to risky. You could chuck your wallet and run instead. That was your plan before the man in front of you collapsed. Blinking, trying to see through the rain, you saw another man, a taller man, behind him. 

“Are you alright?” the new man asked, stepping forward so you could see him better. 

“Nightwing?” you asked, recognizing the mask and the costume from the news.

He pulled you under the side of the building where an awning opened over a doorway. Without the wind and rain in your eyes you could see him more clearly. His hair was matted and damp with the rain, and he had to push it out of his eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked again. His voice sounded strange, as if something electronic were modifying it. 

“Yeah, I… I’m fine, thanks to you. Fuck. Don’t tell my co-worker about this,” you laughed in relief. “I said I’d be fine without an escort. And I usually am, and now this!”

Your laughter turned into nervous shaking and you wrapped your arms around yourself. 

“I’m sorry,” you said. “I just… This is not my week I guess.”

He just stood there watching you carefully. 

“What’s going to happen to him?” you asked, looking at the mugger on the ground.    
“I’ll take care of him,” he promised. 

You grimaced not liking the sound of that. 

“What does that mean?” you asked. “Like  _ take care of him _ ?” you said, doing your impression of a mobster.

He chuckled softly and shook his head. 

“No, I’ll bring him to the police. My guess is he’s wanted for crimes worse than this. Saves you the trouble of going down there, possibly testifying.”

You bit your lip, unsure. Still, the thought of leaving this all behind you was tempting, and you’d heard nothing but horror stories for those who did testify against anyone in this town. You dug around in your purse and pulled out your business card. 

“Well, if you need to reach me for testimony or whatever,” you said. 

He took it and stowed it away. You took a step back into the rain and took one last look at him. 

“Thank you,” you said sincerely. 

He simply nodded, and you walked away. You were in a haze at the bank, but managed to get everything deposited. You were absolutely soaked by the time you got home and treated yourself to some booze and a bubble bath. At least you had the dance to look forward to, you thought, as you soaked. You decided you wouldn't tell Dick about the encounter. He didn’t need to know you’d almost been hurt. For some reason, in addition to your pride, you didn’t think he needed that on his plate.

You’d been looking forward to the dance for a while, but it seemed even more exciting now. Dick had missed out on one of the quintessential milestones of growing up, and you were happy to help remedy that. Even though it had been less than a week, he’d managed to turn your whole opinion of him around completely, a feat not many did. 

You’d closed the center down before the dance, so you had the morning to relax and the afternoon to get ready. 

You’d sewn yourself a nice little evening gown with cheap green fabric that actually looked pretty expensive. Dabbing on what little makeup you owned, you decided you looked good enough to dance with a few grandmas and grandpas, and headed to the center.

You weren’t surprised to see Dick there, as it was the time you’d requested, but you were surprised at his tux. You knew he was rich, but damn, he cleaned up really well. The lines of his tux were tailored within a half an inch. And he seemed to be holding something, although you couldn’t see what it was until you got closer.

He watched you approached, this time taking his time in looking at you. 

“That dress is amazing,” he smiled. “You look great.”

“Thanks, I made it,” you smiled back, showing off the pockets you’d sewn in. 

“You  _ made _ this?” he asked. “You’re so talented.”

“You pick up a thing or two when you teach it for a while,” you laughed. 

“I’m guessing Armani made this?” you teased. He looked slightly embarrassed, but you added, “It looks amazing as well.”

“Thanks,” he muttered. “Oh and I, uh, got you this.”

He showed you what he’d been holding. It was a small plastic container with a corsage in it matching the flower in his tux. You didn’t know quite what to say, and he seemed nervous for a moment. 

“This is… this is what high schoolers do, no?” he asked. “You said I missed out so I was trying to--”

“Yes,” you laughed. “Yes, you’re right. Well done. First step complete.”

You weren’t sure if he knew this is what dates did for each other, but regardless, it was nice of him to bring you any kind of flower. He slipped the corsage onto your wrist and the two of you headed inside. 

You did some last minute setup, mainly food and drink, and were ready for the seniors when they came. Charlie set up as the DJ, and played older songs that the seniors loved. Some had brought their families, others came alone or with their partners. It was a good turn out, overall, you prided yourself. You’d been busy mingling with the seniors, but saw that Dick was now being overrun by Ethel and her granddaughter, along with a few other grandmothers and granddaughters who had similar intentions. He looked at you pleadingly, and you chuckled to yourself before heading over to him. 

“My Gracie is a speech therapist,” Ethel was saying. “Gracie tell him about your work.”

Gracie looked mortified and was trying to quietly usher her grandmother away, while others moved in, trying to tell Dick all about their granddaughters’ achievements. Watching him politely try to excuse himself, and fail, you allowed a moment to laugh before moving in. You slipped in past the crowd and slid your arm through his, going up on tip toe to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“I see you’re quite popular over here, babe,” you said in a sing-song voice. He didn’t skip a beat and looked utterly relieved. The opposite was true for the surrounding young and old women. 

“You’re not dating,” Ethel squinted at you. 

“We weren’t,” you smiled. 

“But, when we were putting this magical night together, something just clicked,” Dick jumped in. 

You almost burst out laughing but managed to keep it together. 

“So you were saying about speech therapy, Gracie?” you asked. 

Most of the crowd dissipated after your move, but Gracie did actually tell you a little about her job which was surprisingly interesting. 

“Actually, have you ever thought about volunteering here?” you asked.

You made plans to talk more about her donating her therapy as a service before Dick made a lame excuse to get the two of you away. He led you just outside the gym door before leaning against the wall and laughing.

You joined in, shamelessly laughing. 

“I mean I did try to get you out of this, if you’ll recall,” you reminded him. 

“I had no idea,” he laughed. 

You shrugged. 

“Grandmas just want handsome nice men for their babies.”

He quirked an eyebrow and took a step towards you. 

“You think I’m handsome?” he asked. 

You rolled your eyes.

“Objectively, you’re not disgusting,” you managed with a small smile.

He nodded playfully. Through the doors you heard Charlie put on an old Nat King Cole song. 

“Would you take this objectively not disgusting man for a dance?” he asked. 

You glanced through the small window panes in the door and looked back at him. 

“Are you sure you want to go back in there? It’s like feeding time at the zoo.”

He shrugged, taking another step towards you and holding out his hand.

“I can hear the music just fine out here,” he said. 

You looked at his hand, unsure what it might actually mean, but you took it instinctually. He pulled you slowly to him, his hands finding purchase on your lower back, while you wrapped your arms around his neck.

The music played softly through the wooden doors but you could hear it. 

_ I'd like to love you everyday, _

_ If I may (if I may). _

_ And dream dreams of you every night, _

_ If I might (if I might). _

At first you were about a foot apart, and it took everything you had to look at him. He didn’t seem to have the same reservations as you, and looked happily down at you as you swayed alone in the hallway. Why did he always seem at ease? So confident, never in doubt of himself. It was something you envied in him, and admired. You tried to meet his gaze with similar confidence, but found the more you looked at him, the closer you wanted to be.

_ You're the object of my affections, _

_ And if you have no objections, _

_ I'd like to love you night and day, _

_ If I may. _

You shifted, moving your arms to hug him tighter to you and resting your head against his chest, fitting just under his chin. You swayed together until the song ended, and then you stopped moving, but you didn’t part. You couldn’t tell if it was just you, but you didn’t want to move. You liked being here, close to him. It was nice and safe, something you hadn’t felt in a while. 

Still, you realized you were probably making him uncomfortable, and forced yourself to step away. You pushed some hair out of your face and looked at him. He looked happy, you thought. He seemed as content as you did. 

“I should probably get back in there,” you said quietly. 

He offered you his arm.

“Am I to be your shield then?” you smirked. “Boyfriend?”

He chuckled.    
“Please,” he requested.

“Well, if you do see anyone you like, just break up with me,” you jested. 

“I won’t,” he promised. 

“You don’t have to marry the girl, Dick,” you said. “If you wanna have some fun with someone, just push me to the curb.”

He looked at you for a moment but shook his head. 

“I’m good,” he promised. “M’lady?” he prompted again with his open arm.

You smiled at him, unsure of the look in his eyes, but took his arm, and pushed through the doors and back into the party. The rest of the night ran smoothly. You stayed near Dick to keep the women at bay, though there were quite a few that you could understand if he wanted to push you away for. Still, he didn’t, and you had a good time. 

The dance wrapped up a little after eight, and Dick and Charlie stayed to help take care of cleaning up the food and drink. The decorations could wait until next week, you told them. You didn’t have anything scheduled in the gym until late in the day Tuesday, plenty of time.

Dick helped you bring some of the leftovers into the mini fridge in the employee break room, but you noticed something on the table when you entered. There were a dozen roses in a vase. You cast a glance at Dick, but he shrugged. You walked over to the roses and saw a card sticking out. Thinking it was one of the senior’s thanking you for the dance, you smiled. Until you read the card.

_ You looked stunning. I’ll see you tonight. XO Mike. _

You hadn’t moved for some time, and even when Dick took the card from your statue-like hand, you remained frozen. 

“Fuck,” he muttered. “You shouldn’t go home tonight.”

You blinked, finally coming back to yourself. 

“Sal’s out of town until tomorrow,” you muttered. “Charlie lives in a tiny apartment that’s already cramped with two people.”

“I can put you up in a hotel,” Dick offered. “Or… you could stay with me.”

You looked at him, saw the concern on his features. Staying with a cop. Not a terrible idea.

“You’d do that for me?” you asked.    
“Of course,” he nearly laughed. “I have a guest bedroom and everything. Might be a little dusty, but…”

You cut him off with a hug, burying your face in his chest. He was tense for a moment, but relaxed and hugged you back. You gave yourself that moment to be scared, but once you pulled away, you decided you wouldn’t let that bastard win. 

“Come on,” he said softly. 

You walked with him to his car. You hadn’t noticed in the time you’d known him, but he was driving an expensive looking Porsche. You got in and sat quietly while he drove. The streetlights mesmerized you as you stared out the car window, the glass cool against your skin.

You’d almost fallen asleep by the time you arrived at the apartment building, but Dick’s gentle touch on your hand roused you. You followed him into one of the nicer apartment buildings in the city, unsurprisingly up to the top floor. Entering, you saw that it was more like a penthouse than an apartment. You guessed he had more than just one guest bedroom in here. Still, the top floor and a doorman meant more space between you and Mike, should he somehow find you here. 

“You been here long?” you asked, longing to fill the silence that had fallen since your hug.

“A little while,” he nodded. “I was on the Blüdhaven force for a few months before my sabbatical. Needed a place to crash.”

“Where were you before that?”

“Detroit,” he answered. “Gotham before that, obviously.”

You nodded absently, looking around. The thing that caught your eye was an old poster. It had torn edges and looked faded, but it was framed carefully, as if preserving it. 

_ The Flying Graysons _ , it read. It was an artist’s rendering of three people, a man, a woman, and a boy.

“My parents and me,” Dick said, walking up behind you to look with you. You turned and looked, surprised. 

“You were in the circus?” 

“I know,” he laughed softly. “It’s weird.”

“No, that’s awesome,” you smiled. “Do they still do it? Your parents?”

You immediately regretted your question because his smile fell. You knew it before he said it. 

“They were murdered,” he said. 

“I’m so sorry,” you said reflexively. “Did they catch them?”

“Don’t be,” he smiled sadly. “They were great. I miss them a lot. And no. I mean I have a good idea of who was behind it, but they’re not the kind of people that go to jail.”

You left that alone for now, not wanting to open the wound more.

“That’s when Bruce adopted you,” you guessed. “After they were killed.”

He nodded. 

“It was quite a change.”

“I bet,” you said. “I lost my parents too,” you added. “Dad was killed in a robbery, Mom from cancer.”

He sighed and took a step towards you. 

“Gets lonely, doesn’t it?” he asked. “Not having a real family.”

You pressed your lips together, trying to calm the cry that wanted to escape your throat. You sat down on his couch and put your head in your hands.    
“What am I going to do?” you asked. 

He sighed and took a seat next to you.    
“I’ll tell you what. For tonight, let’s get you a shower, you can borrow some of my clothes for now. You’ll get some rest, and then in the morning we’ll come up with a plan, okay?”

“You really think I can sleep tonight?” you asked. 

“I think you should try,” he said. “I’m going to reach out to some old contacts and see what I can dig up on Mike, once you give me his last name. Hopefully there’s something we can use that the cops will…” he winced, “Actually care about, as you pointed out.”

You took a breath and sat up. 

“Why are you doing all this for me?” you asked. “I mean you don’t even know me.”

Dick shook his head and looked at you sincerely. 

“I’d like to,” he said. “And I’d like to help you too.”

“Thanks,” you said. “You’re a good friend.”

“I do have my moments,” he managed a smirk. “Come on, I’ll show you to the room.”

He guided you down a long hallway to the end. The last room capped the hallway and he opened the door to a stunning room. The windows were floor to ceiling, a corner room with a view of the whole city. You walked over to them immediately and felt like you were hovering over the streets below. 

“If this isn’t nice, what is?” you muttered to yourself.

“What was that?” Dick asked, coming to stand just behind you. 

“Something I read in a Vonnegut book one time,” you said, not realizing you’d spoken out loud. “Something his uncle or someone used to say. It’s just a phrase I use to take a moment and realize that despite all the shitty stuff in the world, sometimes there are moments of beauty.”

“If this isn’t nice, what is,” he repeated. You both took a moment to look over the city.

“You know, from this far away, it seems almost peaceful,” you sighed. 

“Bruce used to say the same about Gotham when we were high up on some building too.”

“Do you think they ever will be?” you asked. “Peaceful, I mean.”

Dick took a breath as you pressed your back against the glass. You watched him while he considered his answer. His arms were crossed, the lights from the city reflected through the windows and onto him made him look soft and thoughtful. 

“I think there’s always hope,” he said. “Always.”

This made you smile and you felt a kinship growing between you. He smiled softly at you before offering his hand and leading you show you the attached bathroom. 

This room was no less stunning. The shower was basically half the room with a ceiling spout and side jets. Various products lined the the shelves and fluffy towels waited on racks outside. Part of you thought you’d love to live here, but part of you remembered Marcus who hadn’t eaten for a whole day, and you felt nauseous. 

“You okay?” he asked, seeing the fight on your features.

You sighed.

“Yeah, just tired,” you lied. Now wasn’t the time for a conversation like that.

“I’ll leave some clothes on the bed for you,” he promised.

You hadn’t realized that during the time you’d walked into the bathroom and assessed it, he’d held your hand. Now he slipped his hand out of yours and smiled slightly as he left the room. Once he was gone you closed the door and disrobed. The dress seemed tained somehow, lying on the tile floor. It reminded you that you weren’t safe. Mike had seemed like a good guy in the beginning. You were new to the city, new to the idea of love. It had seemed great at first. How did it turn so wrong so fast, you wondered, as you got into the shower. 

Though it was hardly your fault, you also felt guilty for dragging Dick into this. He had wanted to get away from police work, and here you were making him track down an abuser for you. Still, he seemed up to helping you, and honestly you didn’t know what you would have done without him.

You took a long shower, knowing you’d have the luxury of not running out of hot water here. You steamed up the mirrors and had to wipe them off when you got out. It felt like you’d run a marathon, and you were starting to think that sleeping wasn’t as impossible as you’d thought.

As promised, Dick left a shirt and some sweatpants with a drawstring on the bed for you. The shirt ran almost to your knee and the sweatpants, cinched at the ankles, were extremely baggy. They were comfortable, at least, if not stylish. You dried your hair with a dryer you found in the bathroom and went to go find Dick. 

You found him in the living room on the phone, laptop open. He was saying his goodbyes as you walked into the room. On the screen you saw a mugshot of Mike.

“Jesus,” you muttered. “I really know how to pick ‘em.”

You hadn’t know that he’d been arrested, but it didn’t look like a short rap sheet.

“He’s wanted on counts of petty theft, tax fraud, you name it,” Dick said, showing you the sheet.

You groaned and hid your face in your hands. 

“You must think I’m an idiot,” you muttered.

“Of course not,” he said. He said it with such conviction that you pulled your head up to look at him. 

“You see the best in people,” he said. “That’s not a bad thing.”

“I’m not sure he has a best,” you said. 

“People like him are charming, that’s why they get as far as they do in life. People like you, you…”

“Are naive?” you asked. 

“Are empathetic,” he said. “Are  _ nice _ . People like you are a rarity.”

“Well, we know there’s two of us anyway,” you smiled softly. “Nice people.”

He didn’t smile. 

“I’m not always nice,” he said. “Not when it counts anyway.”

“What do you mean?” you asked. He’d never been anything but nice to you.

“Nothing,” shook his head. “Nothing you need to worry about anyway.”

You wondered if he was just being hard on himself. He was a cop, after all, and as far as you could tell, one of the few that wasn’t corrupt. He was kind to old ladies and a role model to kids, what could he think wasn’t nice about himself? Maybe you didn’t know him as well as you thought you did so far. Was he right about the parts you didn’t know? Should you stay away?

“You should get some rest,” he said. “We’ll regroup in the morning.”

“Okay,” you answered softly. “And Dick?” he looked up from the computer screen he’d gone back to. “Thank you.”

He smiled a little sadly and nodded as you left. You closed the door to your room and took a breath. The bed was amazing, of course, and it didn’t take long to fall asleep. It also didn’t take long for a nightmare to wake you. Mike’s hands had been around your throat, it had felt so real. But you woke up alone in bed, sweating and trembling and telling yourself it was just a dream. 

You laid on your back staring at the ceiling for a while. You’d only been asleep an hour or two, but you didn’t see how you could go back to sleep now. The image of Mike strangling you was there every time you closed your eyes.

You decided to at least get up, maybe stretch a little, get a glass of water, and try again. The lights from the city outside illuminated your room and the hallway enough to make it there without any lights. You saw Dick’s computer when you entered, and thought he might have gone to bed as you reached for a glass in the nearby kitchen, but you heard him grumble and realized he was sleeping on the couch. 

You walked over to him, careful not to make any sounds. Mike’s mug shot was still up, along with his rap sheet of various crimes. Dick had started to take some notes, but they seemed to be in a shorthand that you couldn’t quite read. 

Dick was slumped over, his head at an angle you knew would not feel good in the morning. His shoes were still on, and he looked cold. Taking a chance, you knelt down and slipped his shoes off. He didn’t stir. You lifted his feet onto the couch, still nothing. You moved a nearby pillow under his head and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch. He grumbled a little, but remained asleep. He looked much more comfortable now. You wondered how long he’d worked on this after you went to sleep. You felt bad having him do this at all, let alone by himself and past when he should be getting rest. Sighing, you sat down next to him and stared at Mike’s picture.

How could you have been so blind to who he really was? And what made Dick any different? Could you really trust anyone? Still, Dick was a cop, that meant something, didn’t it? You couldn’t be sure in this city. Not really.

But the safety you’d felt with him, in his arms, that was almost tangible. That wasn’t something you’d ever felt with Mike, or with anyone. Your judgement might have been in question with Mike, but was it here? You cautioned yourself to be careful, but found it difficult. Watching him sleep for a moment, you saw the kindness in his face. It radiated from him, even in sleep.

You wedged yourself on the farther side of the sofa, your feet barely touching his, before you fell asleep.

When you woke, it was to extreme amounts of sunlight pouring into the room. You blinked, trying to remember where you were. There was a blanket on you now, and you’d been laid out on the couch rather than scrunched in the corner. 

“Eggs?” Dick asked from the kitchen. You realized then that the smell had woken you as much as the sunlight. 

“Did you--”

“I thought I’d return the favor,” he smiled softly at you. You nearly blushed. You got up to sit at the kitchen island as he served you a plate.

“I hope you got some sleep,” you said. 

“Enough,” he nodded. “And you?”

“Enough,” you echoed.

Dick sipped some coffee while he watched you eat for a moment. 

“So,” he said, sounding different now, like a military man almost. “We have a couple options based on what I can see.”

You nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“Option one, we go to the police and you file for an assault case against him with me as your witness.” You grimaced, unsure the police would care. “Two, you stay here while I track him down and try to get him arrested on the other charges against him, hope they have evidence.” 

You were reminded of what Nightwing had said to you. You guessed it was common to have outstanding warrants here. Apparently a trick of the trade. You waited for the third option, but he seemed hesitant. 

“What’s the third option?” you asked. He put his coffee down and leaned onto the island on his arms, drawing nearer to you. 

“It’s dangerous,” he said. 

“How?” you asked. 

“We could use you as bait,” he said, nearly wincing. You waited for him to continue. “We send you home, seemingly alone, we wait. Assuming he comes to your house at all we can get him on video going against his restraining order. If he tries to break in, even better.”

“But you’d be there too?” you guessed. “Or at least some kind of protection.”

“Yes,” he said.    
“That sounds like our best option, right?” you asked. “Who knows if his other convictions would hold, but breaking and entering and violation of a restraining order would do it.”

Dick nodded grimly. 

“Unfortunately,” he agreed.

“What if he's armed?” you asked. Dick took a step around the counter to stand next to you. 

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised. 

You bit your lip, weighing your options. 

“Okay,” you said.


	3. Chapter 3

You waited at Dick’s apartment while he took your key and placed hidden cameras in your place. He’d assured you he’d be careful and even if Mike was watching, he wouldn’t be seen. Perhaps you should have been more nervous, but you felt confident in your plan. Well, in Dick’s plan, really. If it would get Mike thrown in jail, you would do just about anything. 

While he was gone, you just sat on the couch staring out the window, wondering what was going to happen tonight. The center was closed on most Sundays, and you were grateful for the timing. At least none of the community would suffer as a result of your soap opera. The rain beat against the window, blurring the lights of the city as the sun set. 

Dick returned, and you jumped at the sound of the key in the door. He was drenched, and he slicked back his hair with his hand when he came in. 

“Done,” he breathed. “Didn’t see anyone watching, but it’s hard to see very far out there. You ready to go?”

You nodded. You were still wearing his clothes, and in a strange way you felt safer in them. Something of him to protect you. Scolding yourself for such thoughts, you shook your head as if to clear them away.

“Ready,” you said. 

Dick drove you to your building and nodded with a grim smile as you closed the car door. You were immediately soaked with warm rain as you made it to the building from the street. You went inside and waited. Dick had said he would be waiting in the lobby. He hoped he’d stop Mike there, but if he didn’t enter through the lobby, he’d keep watch on the monitors and run to your aid should you need it. 

You’d refused a gun, not knowing how to use it and fearing doing more damage than not with it. You still had your mace and your limited fighting skills though. You were on edge, no doubt. You felt like you’d taken some kind of drug. Just adrenaline, you told yourself, trying to calm down just a little.

There was no real evidence that Mike knew where you lived. You knew this. And yet you knew he knew. His note had been obvious enough. If he were going to see you at the center he wouldn’t have said  _ tomorrow _ , not  _ tonight.  _ And you knew even though you weren’t home the night he intended, he’d come back again and again until you were.

You tapped the communication device Dick had given you. A small ear bud through which to communicate.

“You there?” you asked, feeling like you were just talking to yourself. 

“I’m here,” Dick promised. “In the lobby. No sign of anyone yet.”

“God, I’m sorry you’re doing this,” you muttered. “You could have had a hot date tonight or… I don’t know, what do guys do on Sunday nights?”

“Knit?” Dick guessed. You chuckled. 

You went to your food closet and dug your hand into some chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. 

“I stress eat too sometimes,” he said. 

You froze, forgetting he could see you as well as hear you. He laughed at your reaction. You didn’t let that stop you from grabbing another handful before sitting on the couch.

“I wish I wanted to stress eat broccoli,” you laughed. 

How could you be laughing at a time like this? You were basically being hunted. Still, you felt safe, even happy with Dick in your ear.

You heard him shift and he took in a breath. You stopped breathing, but he said, “Sorry, thought I saw him but it’s just another tenant.”

“What if he doesn’t come tonight?” you asked.

“He will,” Dick answered. 

You settled into your couch, watching the door. The rain hit the window behind you, and for a moment, all was calm and peaceful.

At first, you thought you’d heard a strange hit of thunder, but as you turned, your stomach churned. It wasn’t thunder, it was the crash of glass from your window.

Mike had come around on the fire escape. He’d smashed the window with a gloved hand and was now knocking away the jutting glass from the sides of the frame to step through. You shot up and backed up against the furthest wall, mace pointed at him.

“Saw your new friend in the lobby,” Mike spat. “Figured this would be more romantic anyway.”

Rain was coming in through the broken window, splattering the floor. 

“We met when it was raining,” he said desperately. 

“Dick,” you whispered. 

“I’m coming,” he said, breathing heavy. 

You ran, but barely grasped the doorknob to the bathroom before Mike lunged and caught you by the hair, yanking you backwards. You felt rather than saw the blade of a knife against your throat, and Mike turned you towards the door as Dick busted through.

“Just let me have her,” Mike said through gritted teeth. 

You tried to back into Mike, to get away from the knife, but you couldn’t. You watched Dick’s face remain calm, though his eyes told a different story. 

“Leave, and I put the knife down,” Mike offered. 

“Not happening,” Dick said. 

“Mike,” you pleaded. “Please.”

You felt his grip loosen slightly at your voice and decided to run with it. 

“Please,” you said again. “Let me just look at you.”

You felt pressure on your arm as he turned you around, keeping the knife at your throat. You forced a smile. 

“I can’t believe you came for me,” you forced yourself to say. “So romantic, isn’t it? In the rain? Just like when we met.”

His eyes softened for a moment, and you thought he might actually be delusional, or perhaps narcissistic enough, to believe you.

“Can you put the knife down?” you asked. “Just a little, I’d hate to have a scar there.”

He backed the knife up an inch or two, but it was too close for your liking.

“Tell him to go away,” Mike whispered, eyes flickering towards Dick.

You turned towards Dick as best you could, though Mike was still holding you close. Mouthing as clearly as you could, you barely whispered, “On three. One. Two.”

You dropped as heavy and as fast as you could. In his surprise, Mike let you slip through his fingers. Dick ran, catapulting himself at Mike and ramming him into a wall. He dropped the knife, and you grabbed it, holding it in front of you with shaking hands. 

Mike headbutted Dick, causing him to stagger back a few paces. Mike then punched him, and you screamed, running towards Mike with the knife, but the last thing you saw was Mike’s fist before you blacked out.

***

You woke to a beeping sound. Taking a breath, you opened your eyes and immediately regretted it. Everything was too bright and white. 

“Nurse,” you heard a familiar voice call. 

Eventually, you opened your eyes all the way and let them adjust to the brightness. The face staring at you was slightly bruised with a few scratches here and there. But it was Dick. 

“Hey,” he said, a little breathlessly. 

“Where are we?” you asked.

“Hospital. Mike knocked you out.”

You blinked, recalling what you could of the events.

“Did you… did he?”

“He’s in custody now,” Dick assured you. “He got in a good headbutt though, wasn’t expecting that.”

His laugh at this made you smile, but you studied his bruised face and couldn’t help ghosting a hand along his jaw. 

“I’m so sorry,” you said. 

“You’re sorry?” he asked. “I’m the one who promised you wouldn’t get hurt.”

“I’m fine,” you promised. “Right? I mean I  _ feel _ fine.”

“You are fine,” a nurse answered as she walked in. “We’re just going to run a few tests now that you’re awake, but seems like a standard concussion.”

She motioned for Dick to get out of her way and he squeezed your hand before heading to the door. 

“I’ll be back soon,” he promised. You nodded back and he left.

The nurse asked you a few routine questions to make sure you knew the date and the president, along with doing a few reflex tests.

“All normal,” she concluded. “We just need a doctor to come clear you too, since you were out for so long. That’s some boyfriend you got there,” she remarked as she was packing her tools away. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you said. “He’s my…” you paused. Volunteer? Seemed far to little. Friend?

“Well, whatever he is, he’s a good one. Don’t know many of my friends who would sit with me for fifteen hours.”

You blinked. You’d been out that long? And Dick had stayed with you?

“Yeah I guess so,” you mumbled. 

The doctor came in and did basically the same tests the nurse had done. 

“Looks all good to me. I can send you for a few scans to be safe but…”

“I’ll come back if I have any issues,” you promised. You felt fine, and you didn't need the added expense for what was probably nothing.

“I’ll get your discharge papers going and meet you at the front desk,” the doctor smiled.

The doctor and nurse left and soon after, Dick returned. 

“All good?” he asked, like he already knew. 

“All good,” you said, still slightly shocked.    
“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“Nothing,” you smiled. “They said I can get my discharge papers and head out.”

Dick helped you up, which you were grateful for when the room started spinning. 

“You’ll need to eat something,” he warned, noting your stunned expression.

You made it to the main desk, and something occurred to you. 

Wincing, you asked, “Any idea on the bill on this?”

The nurse looked at your file and shook her head.    
“Already taken care of,” she answered. You looked confused for a moment before turning your attention to Dick. 

“Dick,” you said. 

“Come on,” he said, ushering you outside. 

“I’ll pay you back,” you said. “Eventually…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s the least I could do after getting you hurt.”

You pressed your lips together, wanting to argue, but also… not. You knew that money meant nothing to him, and for once in your life, you allowed yourself to be taken care of. This city had made you harder, more ready for a struggle, but for now, you’d let that go.

Dick opened the car door and you got in. It was only when you were pulling up to your building that you realized something.    
“I should probably go get some plywood or something,” you said. “For the window and everything.”

Dick parked and shook his head. 

“Taken care of,” he said, not quite meeting your gaze, perhaps thinking he’d pressed his luck paying for your hospital bills. 

“Dick,” you said quietly. 

He clenched his jaw for a moment and finally looked at you. 

“You’re my friend,” he said carefully, like he wasn’t sure if it were true. “Just let me do a nice thing for my friend.”

You sighed, feeling guilty for all his charity.

“How did you get it done so quickly?” you asked. He just looked at you. Money. Money made things happen quick, especially in this town. “Right,” you muttered. “Listen, I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate it, I just… I don’t want to be a burden to you, you know?”

Dick laughed and you furrowed your brow.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he smiled. “Just that you’re the opposite of a burden. Trust me.”

You walked inside to find your place in immaculate condition. You took a walk around the room and turned to him. 

“Thank you,” you said. “I thought it might be hard to come in here, but… It feels like it never happened.”

“Good,” he nodded. 

“I’m going to take tomorrow off,” you smiled. “I suggest you do too.”

“Hey, I’m a Tuesday/Thursday guy anyway,” he jested. 

“Right,” you smiled. Though somehow his first week you’d managed to pull him in quite a bit more than that. “Hey,” you stopped him as he was heading for the door. “The least I can do is buy you dinner.”

“I actually have somewhere I have to be tonight,” he regretted. “But I will take you up on that.”

“Thursday?” you asked. “After basketball?”

“Sounds good,” he smiled. 

He left then, leaving you alone in your place. The first thing you did was take a leisurely bath. Then you cuddled up on the sofa and watched your favorite show. You called Charlie to fill him in, telling him you’d be off tomorrow. He had no gripe with that.

You spent your day off being lazy. You did what you wanted and actually had a great time. You were looking forward to Tuesday though. You missed the kids, and if you were being honest, you missed seeing Dick a little too. It was nice to have a real friend in this town. Charlie was great, but he had his husband. You and Dick were both solo, and that made it a little easier to relate to, and to make time for.

When you didn’t see Dick’s car in the parking lot on Tuesday morning, you didn’t panick. He was probably just running a little late. When lunch rolled around, you started to get a little concerned. Had he thought he was just meant to be here for basketball practice? Perhaps you hadn’t been clear, though he’d shown up in the mornings on the other days he’d volunteered. You texted him but got no response. Ten minutes before the practice started, you still hadn’t heard back. You were starting to get worried.

You called him a few times but heard nothing. You distractedly led the kids through their practice, and still hadn’t heard from him by the end of it. It didn’t seem like him to fall off the face of the earth. Maybe he’d thought about it and decided he’d had enough of your drama. Your drama that nearly got him killed, and having to pay for all your broken things. Or maybe he felt like he’d done enough charity work now. You frowned, your stomach twisting into knots. Maybe he thought he’d done what he came here to do, and was no longer obligated.

You knew that wasn’t it, but you couldn’t help but speculate when he still hadn’t texted you by Wednesday afternoon.

Was he dead? There was nothing in the papers of a billionaire heir dying, just another Nightwing sighting, but in Gotham this time, alongside Batman. The fact that he wasn’t dead was both good and bad. Good because obviously he wasn’t dead. Bad because it meant he chose not to show up or even tell you he wasn’t showing up.

By the time Thursday morning rolled around and you saw Dick’s car in the parking lot, you were fuming. He was standing next to his car with a familiar donut box and what looked like a guilty expression. 

You walked past him, pretending not to notice him. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, walking up behind you as you unlocked the center.

“Excuse me, sir, you seem to think you’re some kind of volunteer here?” you answered. “The center doesn’t open for the community for another hour.”

You pushed the doors open and headed to the break room. You could hear him following you. You knew you’d forgive him, but he asked for this by not talking to you.

“It was a family emergency,” he explained. His jaw still looked bruised, but you thought it should have faded more by now, not grown.

“A family emergency in which one hundred percent of your time was spent away from your phone, and you couldn’t possibly find a single second to tell me you weren’t coming? I had to rearrange so much shit,” you explained.

“I know,” he answered evenly. “And yes, more or less, I had zero seconds to communicate.”

You sighed, wondering if it was unfair of you to ask that of him in such a time. 

“Is Bruce okay?” you asked, thinking that was probably his only family. 

“Yes,” he said. “Turned out to be completely manageable, but we weren’t sure for a minute.”

“Well, that’s good at least,” you sighed. You stared at the floor for a moment.

“I am sorry,” he promised. “This is important to me, but…”

“I know, family comes first,” you said. “I get it. Sometimes it’s easy to forget when you don’t really have any.”

He pressed his lips together and nodded. 

“Oh, by the way, I asked my contacts at the precinct. Mike’s sentence is long enough for you not to worry about ever seeing him again. And if he somehow gets a parole hearing, I’ll be there to quash it.”

You nodded slowly, taking that in. It should have been more of a relief than it was. You still felt the weight of it for some reason. 

“I still owe you dinner,” you said, turning to brighter things. “Would you settle for some pizza at lunch?”

He smiled and nodded. The rest of your day went easily. You spent the morning munching on the donuts he’d brought, and the afternoon with the kids. You parted ways afterwards, and went home. 

A family emergency, you thought. You’d been thinking it over. For some reason the excuse didn’t sit well with you, but then again, did he owe you the truth? Perhaps it was something worse or embarrassing that he didn’t want to talk about. After all, you hadn’t known each other long. 

You decided to let it go. It seemed like it was probably a one time thing anyway. Everyone made mistakes.

***

You got a text Friday night from a leader of a nearby church. He was asking if your community center would help them out the next day. They had a support group for single parents to come together and help each other out, but their church had to be closed for an exterminator to deal with a rat problem. Usually they had someone to watch the kids while the adults came and swapped tips, raised money for each other, whatever they needed, but the leader would have to be at the church this week to oversee things. 

You responded that you’d be happy to help, and that they could use the gym. You’d be happy to watch the kids while the parents met as well. He was so thankful to you, and told you there’d be about ten kids ranging from five to ten. Hearing this made you want some backup and you texted Dick who promised to help out.

The group arrived in the morning around ten, and you greeted them at the entrance of the center. You took the kids to the break room and Dick looked after them there until you’d brought them all in. 

It was surprisingly easy, as most of the parents had left their kids with phones or tablets to play on.

You and Dick stood back and let them hang out. 

“What do you think kids will look like in another ten years?” you asked. “Chips in their brains?”

Dick chuckled softly. 

“Maybe,” he shrugged.

Your eyes scanned the room, and found one child alone in the corner. You glanced at Dick and indicated the child. She seemed a little scared and was watching everyone around her playing and talking with a cautious stare.

You and Dick made your way over to her. You both knelt down to her level. 

“Hi there,” you said, and introduced yourself and Dick. 

“Hi,” she said, not meeting your gaze. 

“What’s your name?” Dick asked. 

“Annabella,” she responded. 

“So pretty,” you smiled. That got you a small smile in return. 

“Whatcha got there?” Dick asked, pointing to what looked like some kind of toy purse. 

“Makeover kit,” she said. 

“You like to give makeovers?” you asked. She nodded. She still wasn’t looking at either of you. 

“Can I give you one?” she asked. 

“Sure,” you answered. 

“No,” she said, turning to Dick. “You.”

You studied his face, ready to see dismissal, but he grinned. 

“You know, I’ve been waiting for a new look, thank you.”

She beamed and opened her kit. You pulled over a chair for Dick and he sat obediently. Annabella opened up immediately, starting to talk about all her different techniques and repeating things she’d obviously heard from her mother. 

She globbed cheap purple eyeshadow in random patterns on Dick’s eyelids, then added some cartoonish blush to his cheeks and gave him blue lips. She definitely hit on a few of the bruises and you winced, but he didn’t seem phased. In fact, he seemed delighted. He engaged with her, getting her to open up and start having fun. By the time the makeover was over, she’d attracted a crowd, who then started playing with her.    
Dick stood and followed you back to the corner of the room to watch them play.

“You look stunning,” you smirked. 

“I can tell you’re jealous,” he answered.

“Oh, I am,” you promised. “You’re good with them,” you said. 

“I sort of had to be in the circus,” he explained. “I was the oldest kid so I always got stuck babysitting.”

You smiled, imagining what that looked like. 

“What a wild childhood,” you laughed. “You and your parents did what again?”

“Trapeze,” he smiled fondly, his eyes far away. 

“Jesus,” you breathed. “I get vertigo just looking down the stairs, I can’t imagine jumping around up there.”   
“It’s not scary when you know you have someone to catch you,” he said, taking a moment to look at you. For a moment, the rest of the room fell away, and you were completely wrapped up in him. The look in his eyes was both incredibly present, and lost in the past. It wasn’t long before a small hand tugged on the hem of your shirt, pulling you out of the moment.

After helping to hand out some snacks, the kids quieted down a bit, and before long their parents had come to collect them. They thanked you, and took their kids, leaving you and Dick alone again.

“See you next week?” you asked, as you were walking out of the building together. 

“You bet,” he smiled. 

Part of you wanted to ask him to hang out this weekend, but you thought better of it. There was a nagging feeling that he was lying to you about why he hadn’t shown up, and you couldn’t push it away. You wanted to be his friend, and he’d proven to you that he wanted to be there for you, but there was something he wasn’t telling you. Maybe acquaintances was as far as you went with him. Or maybe that’s all he would allow you to be. Either way, you wanted to keep up that barrier  _ before _ you let yourself feel anything more for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thankfully I've never been hospitalized so pls ignore any inaccuracies in that area of this chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

“It feels dirty,” you complained, sitting across from Charlie in his office.

“It’s a little weird,” he admitted, “But having Dick Grayson at our Fourth of July party will bring a lot more people out, and their wallets.”

“Why doesn’t Dick just donate?” you asked, thinking of the people here and their low income jobs.

Charlie looked at you blankly.

“What?” you asked. 

“He does,” Charlie said. “A lot.”

“Really?” you asked. 

“The Wayne Foundation started donating a few months before he started volunteering here. It’s helped us pay off a lot of bills.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” you asked. 

“I just thought you knew,” he shrugged. 

“Still, even if we don’t get a lot of donations, it’s important to get a lot of people to come and spread the word. There’s no community center if there’s no community.”   
You nodded. 

“Still, feels like we’re sending a lamb to slaughter for the money.”

“It does,” Charlie said, smiling slightly. “Which is why I want you to ask him.”

You rolled your eyes. 

“I guess,” you sighed and stood up.

You waited until the end of the day to ask Dick about the party. You were cleaning up jerseys from basketball practice, and you’d made it to the laundry room.

“Hey, so I have to ask you something. You can totally say no, but--”

“You want me to come to the Fourth of July party,” he smirked. 

“I know it sucks and feels like exploitation but it would really help if you--”

“I’m in,” he said. “Obviously.”

You smiled and thanked him.    
“Hey, I didn’t know you guys donated so much to us,” you admitted. “I just… thanks.”

“We donate to a lot of places like this,” he promised. “They’re important.”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “But still.”

He smiled and continued loading jerseys in the washing machine.

“Do you need any help with the set up?” he asked. “I imagine it’s a little more intense than the senior dance.”

“Sort of,” you said. “Not as intensive decoration wise, but we have some food to prepare. It’s a pot luck thing basically, but we still provide a lot of the food just in case other people can’t.”

“What’re you making?” he asked. 

“Deviled eggs,” you answered. “About a hundred of them.”

“Impressive,” he said. 

“It will be if I can do it,” you laughed. 

“Maybe I can help,” he offered. “I have a big kitchen, we could boil a ton at a time and then make an assembly line.”

You chuckled and nodded.    
“That’d be great,” you said. “Maybe tomorrow night? Then they’re fresh for the day after?”

“Sounds good.”   
You were looking forward to the following night, and when it came, you were no less happy to go. First of all, Dick’s apartment was amazing, and it felt nice to breathe in a space, rather than be in a box like your apartment. Second, you’d grown to like Dick’s company.

You arrived with a boat load of eggs on a small hand cart and wheeled them in. 

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about the work load,” he laughed. 

“Nope,” you smiled. “Better get started I guess!” 

You followed him to the kitchen where he’d assembled four large pots. You set the water to boil and waited. While you waited, you were looking around. A few picture frames were sitting along the counters and the tables. You looked a few, assessing the people in them to be from the circus based on their outfits and the background. 

“Do you still talk to the others from the circus?” you asked Dick absently. 

He didn’t reply right away, and you tore you attention away from the frame to look at him. He was standing against the stove and looking at the floor. 

“Not really,” he said. 

“Sorry, is that part of your life hard to talk about?” you asked. “I didn’t mean to--”

“No,” he promised, finally meeting your gaze. “It’s fine. I don’t talk to them. Not really. It’s hard to talk without thinking about my parents.”

“How old were you?” you asked. 

“Ten,” he answered. 

“I was around then when my dad died,” you smiled sadly. “Sometimes I think I’ll forget what his voice sounded like, or the way he looked at me.”

Dick looked back at the floor and nodded, his jaw clenched. 

“I don’t have many pictures of them,” he said. “They were always the ones taking pictures,” he nodded to the ones you had been looking at. “I’m always terrified I’ll forget her smile.”

You moved closer to him, slowly, carefully. He glanced at you and relaxed a little. 

“Do you dream about them?” you asked. 

He nodded. 

“Me too,” you said softly. 

You’d inched closer to him, ghosting a hand down his arm and slipping your hand into his.

“She was fearless,” Dick said. “So was he.”

“Were they funny?” you asked. 

He laughed a little and smiled. 

“Yes,” he said. “We laughed a lot.”

“My mom used to tickle me senseless,” you remembered. 

“I’m glad you have good memories of them,” he said. You nodded. 

“That’s where the images and the sounds are loudest and most vibrant for me,” you offered. “When I’m scared of losing their smiles or voices, those are the times I think of.”

He looked at you, and for a moment, he leaned in, resting his forehead against yours and closing his eyes. You stayed like that for a long moment until one of the pots bubbled over, causing you both to jump back.

Dick cleared his throat, and you slipped your hand out of his. 

“Water’s ready,” he said softly. 

“I’ll get the eggs,” you replied.

As the eggs boiled, you got your assembly line ready. You put on some music to fill the easy silence that had settled between you. You spoke easily to each other after that moment, but there was a melancholy over the evening. It wasn’t bad, though, you realized. It was just…  _ real. _

After the first dozen eggs, you started to regain an easier atmosphere. You made a joke, and then he did. The egg puns started flying, and you were laughing again as if nothing sad had been spoken of at all. 

You wondered if he ever talked about his parents. Perhaps with Bruce, you thought. Or perhaps an expensive therapist. Even if he had, you’d doubted he’d talked about them since he moved away from Bruce.

When you’d finished with all the eggs, you were tired. Dick brought down a bottle of bourbon and showed it to you. 

“A reward for our efforts?” he suggested.

“Sure,” you laughed. 

He grabbed two glasses and led you over to the couch. You nestled into the corner with your glass and he sat a few cushions away from you. 

“So, how’s Bruce?” you asked. He didn’t seem to understand why you were asking, so you added, “You know, the family emergency?”

He blinked, long enough for that pit in your stomach to form that reminded you of your doubts of his excuse.

“Much better,” he nodded. “Thanks.”

“Good,” you answered absently. Perhaps it was the bit of whiskey in you, but you couldn’t help but add, “You know you don’t have to lie to me, right?”

He blinked again, apparently unprepared for that statement.

“Of course,” he answered, recovering quickly.

“Obviously you don’t owe me anything,” you amended, “But like, whatever’s going on, you can tell me. You can trust me, Dick.”

“It  _ was _ a family emergency,” he promised with an easy smile. 

You frowned, unsure why that had some ring of truth to it but still felt off.

“Well, if you do need to disappear for a few days or whatever, just--”   
“If I do, just know it’s not personal,” he promised. It felt like he was admitting something. “I’m not abandoning you or the center, I just… My life is complicated sometimes.”

You imagined the life of the elite was anything but simple, and nodded. 

“I get it,” you said. “But you know, I’m here. If you need me to be.”

He nodded.    
“Same,” he promised. 

“I think Ethel might show up tomorrow,” you teased, nudging his thigh with your foot from your corner of the couch.

He laughed and leaned back against the couch, tilting his head back. The sun had set, and the moonlight graced his neck, making it impossible not to notice the curve of him, the outline of his profile. You caught yourself staring at him not for the first time. When he tilted his head to look at you, he didn’t seem to notice, though.

“Do you ever think you’ll date anyone again?” Dick asked, probably thinking of the same thing you were about Ethel trying to set him up with her granddaughter. 

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “I guess they’d basically have to be Superman,” you laughed. 

He pressed his lips together and smiled slightly. 

“So in conclusion, no,” you answered. “What about you? Maybe in a while, whatever pattern you’d gotten into will have changed for the better?”

He shook his head.    
“I doubt it,” he said. 

“Well, I guess we’ll grow old and alone together,” you offered, profering your glass to clink with his.

“Fine by me,” he smiled softly.

You drank the rest of your whiskey and laid the glass on the coffee table. You rested your head against the couch and tried not to close your eyes.    
“Why don’t you stay the night?” he asked. 

You grumbled, but your eyes closed and wouldn’t open. 

“I’ll go make up the guest bedroom,” he nearly whispered. 

You felt his hand on your head, a gentle gesture as he passed by you and left to set up the room. He came back a few minutes later and saw you’d won the battle to stay awake. 

“It’s ready,” he said. 

You shuffled up to him and wrapped your arms around him. He didn’t seem to have expected this, but seemed happy enough to return the hug. You pressed yourself against him as tightly as you could. 

“Goodnight,” you said sleepily. 

“Goodnight,” he answered. 

You slipped off to the room, and fell asleep the moment you hit the pillow. You woke to someone shaking you rather intensely. You heard your name being repeated and it finally pulled you from unconsciousness. 

“Are you okay?” Dick asked, looking rather alarmed. 

You felt yourself drenched in sweat, and blinked, trying to think of what could have happened. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked. “What happened?”

“You were screaming,” Dick explained, relaxing now that he knew you weren’t in danger.

“Oh,” you mumbled. “I don’t know why.”

Dick sighed and shifted to sit more on the bed. 

“I bet I do,” he said grimly. “You never dealt with the trauma of facing Mike. I bet you were having a nightmare.”

“I don’t remember it,” you said. And you didn’t, you just remembered a feeling of fear and anxiety.

“Your body does,” Dick said. 

You pulled your knees to your chest and took a breath. 

“I’m sorry I woke you,” you said, looking at the clock. It was just after five in the morning.

“I was up,” he promised. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You shrugged, hugging your knees. 

“I don’t know,” you said. “I thought I was fine. My apartment was fine for some reason. Just being back here… I guess something got triggered.”

“You don’t feel safe here?” Dick guessed. 

“No, that’s the thing…” you said, realizing it while you said it. “I think… I feel the most safe here, and that’s why I had the dream. I didn’t think I could handle it alone, at my apartment. But being here, with you… I don’t know, I guess it’s like I didn’t have to be so strong anymore. I could just let myself feel it.”

Dick moved onto the bed and pulled you into a hug as you started to cry. It seemed like he knew you’d cry before you did, and he just held you. It hadn’t occurred to you that you hadn’t processed what had happened. You’d just resumed your life, blocking it out because it was easier than dealing on your own. But now you didn’t have to deal with it on your own.    
When you were done crying you felt a lot lighter. 

“God, sorry I’m so sweaty,” you laughed, as your breathing returned to normal.

“No worries,” Dick said amiably. 

“Jesus, you invite a girl to stay the night, I bet this isn’t how it usually goes for you,” you joked. 

“No,” he admitted with a smirk. “But that’s not a bad thing.”

The sun wasn’t even up yet, but the two of you decided to get breakfast at a nearby diner. You felt a lot lighter, you realized. Your shoulders were relaxed, and your jaw wasn’t clenched.

Dick dropped you back at your apartment to get ready and get your things for the party. You’d loaded up his car with the eggs, so all you had to do was grab a few last minute items and head to the community center. The party didn’t start for an hour, but you set up what you needed to and then just hung out.

“Do you think you’ll get a lot of donations today?” Dick asked. “I mean, mine aside.”

“Well, first of all, thanks, and secondly, yeah. We advertised a little bit that you’d be here, so I’m sure people from around the city will come too, not just the direct neighborhood. That means people with a little more pocket money. So yeah, feeling good about it.”

“Good,” Dick smiled.

“Sorry you have to be our Lil Sebastian though,” you admitted. 

“Hey, that horse was goddamn hero,” Dick laughed. “I’m proud to be compared.”

“Oo, what’s the story for Ethel and the rest, still dating?” you asked. 

“Yes please,” he nodded.

“Good plan,” you agreed. “Not just seniors trying to hook you up, but moms, and aunts, and cousins,” you teased. 

“Well, I’m sure they’d try for you too,” he laughed. He didn’t quite make eye contact as he said it, as though he might have felt a little shy about it.

“They know better by now,” you smiled. “But you’re fresh meat.”

The party went off without a hitch, and you had more people than you’d expected. A lot were there for selfies with Dick, and you couldn’t say you blamed them. It was a chance to meet a local-ish celebrity, someone with more cash than they’d ever see if they lived four lifetimes. Not to mention he didn’t look so bad in that tight gray shirt. You let him be for the most part, but you seemed to be able to sense when he needed you to step in. He let you know with a glance if someone was getting a little too friendly, and you helped him out. You didn’t mind playing the part. He’d done enough by bringing in this many people, the least you could do was help him say no politely over and over again. 

There were a few women you were surprised he hadn’t “dumped” you for. You’d told him again that if he wanted to he could, but he didn’t. Maybe he didn’t even want flings, you guessed. Maybe even that was too complicated for him.

Charlie and his husband were in on your ruse, so you didn’t have to explain it to anyone that you weren’t actually dating. You did the minimum to sell it, allowing his arm around your waist, holding hands occasionally. Sometimes he would lean over and kiss your temple though, and for a moment you forgot that you were just friends. It felt so natural, and so genuine. Perhaps it was. Perhaps it was genuine affection for you, just not romantic, translated into a slightly romantic gesture. To say you were starting to confuse yourself would have been an understatement. 

Being with him physically was so easy now. Being with him in general was easy. You two were a well-oiled machine, refilling drinks, keeping an eye on the food supply, and wrangling children. It was like you’d worked together for years rather than a month.

By the end of the party, you were a little tired, but very happy. It had gone so well. Charlie had taken the donation box to the safe, and you could see it was nearly bursting. You’d have to make another trip to the bank soon, you realized. Maybe you could convince Charlie to do it. You still hadn’t told Dick about that night, and you weren’t sure you ever would. You wanted to just forget it ever happened.

You finished packing up everything just as the sun was starting to set. Standing next to the storage boxes, you sighed happily. 

“You were amazing today,” you told Dick. “People loved you, and that translated into loving the center. I can’t thank you enough.”

“I just existed in the circumstances you set up,” he shrugged. “Easy gig.”

“Still,” you said. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he smiled. He finished passing you the last box to store in the closet. “Hey, do you want to come over for the fireworks?” he asked. “I’d bet you’d get a pretty good view from my roof.”

“Sure,” you said. “I was just gonna go home and listen to the booms wondering if they were gunshots or fireworks, but that sounds better.”

“Want to finish up here and I’ll drive us over?” he asked.

“Sounds good,” you smiled.

You finished up at the center, wished Charlie a happy fourth, and drove over to Dick’s. You were just in time for the start of the major fireworks in the park not far from Dick’s apartment. Taking the stairs, you emerged onto the roof. You thought it might be crowded, but you were the only two up there. Maybe he owned the roof, you thought. Either way, it wasn’t a bad thing, as you had the whole place to yourselves. 

It was a chilly night for July, but warm enough to be comfortable as the sun finished setting. There was a large sun chair recliner on the roof, and Dick offered it to you.    
“Afraid it’s usually just me,” he said. 

You looked at the width of the chair and nodded to it.

“We can both fit,” you promised. “Come on, I won’t bite.”

He laughed and followed your lead. The two of you barely fit shoulder to shoulder, and while you were trying to adjust, he simply lifted his arm. You nestled onto his chest, giving you both a little extra room on the sides. 

_ This is fine, _ you told yourself.  _ This can be platonic. Snuggling on a rooftop alone watching fireworks. It’s what friends do. _

You repeated this to yourself several times while you tried to focus on the fireworks. You got comfortable a few minutes in, and felt the weight of the day on your eyelids. You’d woken up early because of the nightmare and had been going basically non-stop all day. You tried to catch yourself, though. You couldn’t spend another night here. He was already too gracious of a host as it was. When the finale hit, you promised to act very awake once you got up, so he wouldn’t even feel the need to offer you to stay over.

You expected him to try to move and get up the minute the fireworks were done, but he didn’t. 

“Those were unexpectedly good,” he said. 

Your head was still on his chest. You weren’t sure if you were supposed to move first, or if he wanted to hang out a while longer. You knew you should go home and sleep, but another part of you wanted desperately to be next to him.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I guess people will splurge on the fun stuff now and then.”

“I’m glad the roof ended up working out,” he added. “I wasn’t sure about what the view would be.”

“We could have just been watching a blank sky,” you laughed. “You took a gamble, but it paid off.”

“Hey, I’d watch a blank sky with you,” he smiled. 

You took this opportunity to sit up. He remained laying down, moving the arm that had been around you to prop up his head. It made his arm look huge, and you couldn’t look away for a moment. 

“Yeah, well, who says I’d have stayed?” you teased. “A girl needs to be entertained.”

You couldn’t help the yawn that escaped, but tried your best to cover it up. It was late, and you really needed to get going.

“Should I make up the guest room again?” he asked. 

“No, no,” you answered, standing up. “I will not impose another night, don’t worry.”

He stood too, and shook his head.

“It’s no bother,” he promised. “I… kind of like the company.”

You couldn’t help but smile for a moment. 

“Your screaming-in-their-sleep company?” you laughed. 

He looked at you with a more serious expression than you were expecting.

“It might not be a bad idea not to be alone,” he suggested. “If you want, of course,” he added. “In my experience, once the trauma actually hits, it takes a while to go away.”

“I don’t know if it’s  _ trauma, _ ” you said, looking at your feet. 

“It was,” he answered, stepping forward to put a hand on your arm. “You were stalked and attacked.”

“I can handle myself,” you muttered. 

“I know,” he answered. “But you don’t have to.”

You swallowed hard and looked up. The way he was looking at you made your heart melt. His eyes were so big, so giving. He was so open in that moment.

“You can absolutely rescind this offer with no guilt,” you offered.

“Never,” he promised. “So, guest room?”

“You’ll need to start keeping some of your smaller clothes put aside for me,” you laughed, realizing you never planned to stay over here and never had any clothes to do so with.

He chuckled and you made your way inside. He went to go change the sheets, but you stopped him. It was just you that had slept on them, no need for hotel level cleanliness here. 

It was pretty late, and you were tired from the day, so you said your goodnights and made your way to your room. 

You showered and took your time in there, reveling in the expensive body wash and never-ending hot water. Dick had left some clothes for you to sleep in and you put them on. You swam in them but they smelled like him and were nice and soft. You crawled into bed and fell asleep immediately. 

You heard yourself screaming before you realized what it was. The last thing you remembered dreaming was Mike headbutting Dick and knocking him out while you screamed at him to stop. 

You slapped your hands over your mouth to stop yourself from making the noise. Dick wasn’t right there like he was last time. Maybe he hadn’t heard it. Glancing at the clock, you saw it was only two in the morning. The nightmare had made your heart race and fear flood your body. Coming down from that wasn’t easy, and you felt shaky, your throat threatening to let out a cry.

For a moment you thought you hadn’t woken him, but you heard soft footsteps and a little knock on your door only a moment after the thought.    
“I’m fine,” you promised through the closed door. 

He opened it slightly and peered in, seeing the tears threatening to slip out, and your shaking form on the bed. You must have looked so small and weak to him in that moment, cowering in a king sized bed, but it didn’t seem to matter. 

He swept in, sitting on the other side of the bed and opening his body to you. It felt as natural as anything to move to the middle with him and allow him to wrap his arm around you. You laid on his chest, just as you had on the roof, but now in a silent, dark, room. You could hear his heartbeat in here. Slow and steady. You felt the warmth of his chest, and only then did you realize he wasn’t wearing a shirt. His skin was soft, and you traced a light pattern on his chest while you calmed down. 

“What was it this time?” he asked quietly. 

“Still Mike,” you said. “But this time he was beating you.”

“My dream form needs to work out more I guess,” he lightly jested. 

You smiled slightly up at him. 

“I guess so,” you agreed. Then, after some silence, “Do you ever have nightmares?”

“All the time,” he said. 

“What do you do for them?” you asked. He shrugged slightly beneath you. 

“Wake up, do something else.”

“Do you talk about them with anyone?” you asked. 

“I used to tell Alfred,” he nodded. 

“Who’s that?”

“Don’t judge me, Alfred was our butler,” he chuckled. 

“I won’t judge you,” you laughed. “Though that is ridiculous that someone I know has had an actual butler.”

“He’s British,” Dick said. “So anytime I was scared, he would calmly tell me it was all just a dream in such a nice accent that I almost believed him.”

“What were the nightmares about?” you asked tentatively.

“Falling,” he said, swallowing hard. “From the trapeze. Or watching my parents fall.”

You took a deep breath and let it out. 

“That sounds awful,” you said. 

“So does watching me get beat up,” he noted. “Though somehow I feel like when we first met, you’d probably have enjoyed that dream.”

You laughed and hit him playfully. 

“No,” you said, though it was only half true. “And anyway, I didn’t think you were an entitled rich asshole for longer than like, a day.”

“Mmmm,” he said in a high pitched voice, teasing you. 

“Shut up,” you laughed. “You’re fine.”

“ _ Fine _ fine, or just fine?” he joked.

“As we’ve discussed, you’re not objectively not disgusting,” you reminded him.

“Right, right,” he nodded. 

There was a silence then, and you took another deep breath. You felt sleepy again, calmed by his touch and his heartbeat. It felt good to know that he was here, not in any danger because of you. Your first nightmare had seemed far away when you woke up, like you’d been personally afraid that Mike would hurt  _ you _ , but that was all. This was far more oriented towards Dick, and your fear that he could have been the one in the hospital instead of you.

Before you knew it, you were asleep again. 

When you woke, you were on your side. You blinked, wondering when in the night Dick had left, since your head was on a pillow now, but warm breath on the back of your neck made you realize he had not left.

Wrapped around you like a vine, Dick slept peacefully, arm tucked around your waist, face almost buried in your hair. His chest pressed against your back, and he held you snugly to him.

At first you felt guilty for sort of making him your personal dream catcher for the night. He’d probably intended to come in, give you a nice, friendly, hug, and go back to his own bed. But you’d fallen asleep on him, and he was too goddamn nice to disturb you.

Well, you weren’t about to disrupt his sleep, and closed your eyes again, falling into a half-sleep until he woke up a half hour later. 

He stretched as he woke, pulling you closer to him, and you stretched as well, to let him know you were awake. He loosened his hold on you, but didn't move his arm as you turned to face him.

“Sorry,” you muttered. 

“I think the usual greeting is good morning,” he said, half his mouth buried in the pillow. You tried not to focus on how cute his bedhead was.

“I sort of trapped you into dream catching for me,” you explained. “I hope I didn’t mess up your sleep.”

“Quite the contrary,” he admitted. “Do you have to go into work today?”

“Nah,” you sighed happily. “The center closes after the party for the rest of the week. People are usually too busy at their own functions to come to anything we do.”

“So we have the day?” he asked, sounding a little excited. 

“We?” you asked. “You aren’t kicking me out immediately this morning?”

“Mmm, you know what, I change my mind, you’re right, please leave immediately.”

You laughed and snuggled further under the covers.

“Just try and make me leave this bed,” you challenged. 

You saw him arc an eyebrow in response and before you could register what he was doing, you were already in his arms leaving the bedroom. He’d picked you up off the bed and plopped you onto the kitchen island, leaving you a giggling mess while he went to the fridge to find some breakfast.

“I feel like that was cheating,” you assessed. 

He shrugged. 

“I heard a challenge, and I accepted it. There were no rules.”

“Fair,” you laughed. 

He looked absolutely stunning in the morning light as he rustled around the kitchen. You couldn’t help but feel a sense of intimacy forming between the two of you. 

_ He doesn’t date, _ you reminded yourself.  _ And neither do I. _

For some reason you kept forgetting that rule you’d made for yourself. Still, the reason for that rule was Mike, and comparing Mike to Dick was… not a comparison. They were difference species in your mind. But Dick didn’t date. That much you knew. And you knew yourself well enough to recognize when you were starting to catch more than just friendship feelings for someone. You should quash it, turn it off, and focus on being a good friend. 

But he did make it hard with the lines of his back and way he ran his hands through his hair. You allowed yourself to watch him finish making breakfast, and then restrained yourself to purely platonic thoughts.

The two of you brought your breakfast to the couch and threw on a random Netflix show. You ate happily together, and the morning devolved into the two of you lounging on the couch. After eating yourselves to the point of a food coma, it wasn’t until after you’d settled into the couch that you realized you were snuggling with him. You weren’t sure if he’d initiated it or if you had, but you’d wound up laying on top of him, your back to his chest, watching some cooking show. 

You criticized the chefs together, making accusations of technique you had no rights to be making, and laughing at that in turn.

One of the dishes reminded Dick of something, and he took his phone out, holding it so you could see. 

“That reminds me of this place I’ve been meaning to try,” he mumbled, pulling up the website of the place on his phone.

You scanned the page as he scrolled. It looked  _ fancy _ . And not like just tapas fancy or premium steak fancy. It was a place fit for billionaire Bruce Wayne. Or his adopted son. 

“What do you say we try it tonight?” he asked.

You were still laying on him, and were thankful that your expression wasn’t visible to him right now.

“Umm,” you managed. 

“My treat of course,” he amended.

“I couldn’t,” you said, somewhat bashfully. It looked like an entire paycheck for one meal.

He shifted, placing you onto the couch where he could see your face. 

“Look, I know you feel like indulgences like that are… I don’t know, like you don’t deserve them or something?” he guessed. “But… you do so much, and I just want to… I  _ know _ you deserve a to be treated like...” he trailed off, searching for the word. “A queen?” he attempted.

You couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m just saying you don’t have to feel guilty all the time for enjoying something a little frivolous.”

“I just always think of kids like Marcus,” you admitted. “And I feel guilty. Even though I don’t have a lot, it’s still more than him.”

Dick nodded, knowing full well what you meant. 

“I know,” he promised. “And even though my family gives and gives to people like him, it’s never enough. It’s the system. And we’re working towards changing that too, but it’s slow. And I know you’re part of that solution. A part that  _ never _ gets thanked. And I want to thank you… I guess,” he laughed self consciously, rubbing his hand through his hair.

You watched him explain how he felt to you. Watched him feel the self consciousness, the uncertainty. It seemed so off character for him that you listened, despite feeling exactly what he’d described. You’d always denied yourself things like this because others you loved had even less than you. 

“Alright,” you decided. “Let’s do it. Let’s treat ourselves.”

“Really?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you shrugged. “One night in the palace after a lifetime in the servants quarters. I think it’s alright.”

He smiled and nodded. “I’ll call and make a reservation then.”

“You think we can get one for tonight?” you asked. “Seems like the kind of place you need to reserve months in--”   
He shot you a look and you pressed your lips together trying not to laugh. Sometimes you forgot who you were talking to.

You watched as he picked up his phone, asked for a reservation, was denied, gave him name, and was given the reservation.

“Oh boy, I think I’ve fulfilled my privilege capacity for right now,” you laughed, getting off the couch. “Besides, I have a dinner to get ready for tonight,” you smiled at him. 

Part of you wanted to ask what had been nagging you since he’d asked.  _ Is this a date? _ But you knew better. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be.

He followed you, trailing closer than you’d anticipated as you stood by the door. 

“I’ll drive you home,” he said. “And then I’ll come pick you up later.”

“I can take the bus home,” you promised. “There’s a stop not far from here.”

“No,” he said, before kissing your forehead and leaving to go grab his keys.

It was such a natural gesture, nothing forced, nothing even inherently romantic in it, and yet you still felt a pull in your stomach, a spark in your skin, at the contact.

You waited for him as he grabbed his stuff, and right as you were about to leave, his phone rang.

“Hello?” he asked. Silence. “When?” More waiting. Then a sigh from Dick. “Okay, I’ll be there in an hour.”

He hung up, his jaw clenched and shoulders tight.

“What’s wrong?” you asked. 

His brows pulled together and you could see the regret in his eyes before he said anything.    
“I can’t do dinner tonight,” he lamented.

“Oh,” you said, unsure how you felt. “That’s okay.”

“It’s one of those… emergencies,” he said. 

You could tell he was holding something back, but you couldn’t tell what. 

“That’s okay, I understand,” you promised. “Your life is complicated,” you repeated what he’d told you. “I remember.”

He looked hesitant, like a child who wanted to tell the truth about who ate the chocolate bars, but couldn’t.

“I’ll still drive you home,” he said, walking towards the door.    
“No,” you shook your head. “Go. I’ll take the bus.”

He sighed but nodded. Apparently it was that important. You gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to the door.

You left, your clothes from the night before stuffed into your bag. On the bus, you leaned your head against the window.

Where was he going? You wondered. The only family he’d mentioned was Bruce and their butler, Alfred. Maybe Alfred was the one that was sick? You kept thinking sickness must be the case, as most family emergencies were, but he'd never mentioned such a thing. It couldn’t be financial peril. What else could it be? Were you entitled to that information now that you and Dick were becoming closer? Maybe that would always be a part of his life you didn’t have access to.

It seemed there was coming a sort of ultimatum for your relationship. You knew you couldn’t be together, as he’d made it clear he didn’t date and had hurt people he had dated in the past. Still, as friends, if that’s what you were, it seemed you’d always be at arms length. Perhaps that was unfair. In all reality, you were still getting to know each other. Maybe eventually he’d let you in on whatever was happening. 

The question remained: was he not letting you in because he didn’t want you to get hurt in some way? Or did he not trust you?

Whether you were going to be friends with him or something more, you didn’t think you could live with the secrecy for very long. What if he left like that for weeks on end? With no explanation? Would you just shrug it off and never wonder?

Maybe you had to draw the line. If this was what he wanted, if he needed to keep you in the dark, you weren’t going to be a part of it. Not like this. If this was the level he was going to keep you at, you had to restrain your relationship.

Acquaintances. That’s all you could be. You wouldn’t allow yourself to become his friend, his good friend, and be alienated from what seemed to be a huge part of his life.

Still, the thought of giving him that ultimatum seemed unappetizing. You liked Dick. Really liked him. You didn’t want to not be friends with him. But you had your own mental health to consider too.

You made it home and meandered through your day. You ordered mediocre takeout and ate alone, wondering where exactly Dick was, and what he was doing.


	5. Chapter 5

The worst part of the nightmares was how alone you felt when you woke up. The second worst part was your anger at your own subsconscious. You thought you were over the whole thing. Mike was in jail for a long time. You weren’t in any danger, and neither was Dick.

So why did it feel like he was?

You didn’t hear from Dick for almost a week. You’d texted him, just checking in, seeing if he needed anything, but heard nothing back. You admired his commitment, at least. You couldn’t go a few minutes without checking your phone, let alone a few days. 

It was the middle of the week, the Wednesday after the center had reopened after the holiday, that you saw Dick’s car in the lot. He was already inside, talking to Charlie in his office. 

Charlie saw you, and Dick turned when he saw Charlie’s attention elsewhere. 

“Hey,” you smiled. 

You hated your stomach for twisting pleasantly when you saw Dick. He looked tired, but happy to see you. The resolution you’d made with yourself was slipping already, but you tried to hang onto it. Acquaintances. If he didn’t tell you what was going on, you’d rein things back in. While you felt a growing kinship and innate trust building between you, maybe he didn’t. And that was fine. Or at least that’s what you told yourself.

“I should probably get going,” Dick said to Charlie. “Good catching up.”

“ _ Going _ going, or helping me going?” you asked. 

“Helping,” he smiled. “If you need it.”

“Sure,” you nodded. 

“I should get going too,” Charlie nodded. “That stationary’s not going to restock itself. I’ll be back in an hour.”

You waved to him as you left and walked with Dick down the hallway.

“So… How is everything?” You asked.

Dick took a moment to consider his response. 

“Handled for now, thanks for asking. So what’s first?”

It was a muted response, one completely devoid of any details. Keeping you out. Noted. 

“There’s decorations from the party we need to put on the upper shelves. I was too lazy to grab the stool so I figured I’d just wait till you came back.”

“Roger that,” Dick nodded. “You point it out, I’ll pick it up.”

You did so, leading him to the storage closet you’d gotten the decorations out of. 

You opened the door to the small closet. Floor to ceiling shelves lined both sides and the back wall, making the floor space very narrow. He slipped in, sliding the box onto the top shelf. As he was doing so, his shirt rode up, revealing several large, dark purple, bruises on his side. Those hadn’t been there before he left for his emergency, you were sure. What had he gotten himself into? Something dangerous? You didn’t stare for too long, because in the process of him moving the box onto the shelf, he knocked a small vase off. Without thinking, you stepped in and caught it, accidentally letting the closet door close behind you. 

“Oo, sorry,” Dick said, seeing you’d caught the vase. “Good catch.”

“Fuck,” you muttered, looking twoards the door. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

You grimaced, lamenting that you hadn’t had him fix this dumb door.

“The door sucks,” you explained. “It’s impossible to open from the inside. I usually keep it propped open.”

“Not that I don’t trust you on that, but I just have to,” he said, jiggling the door handle with a lot of force. “Yeah, that baby’s not moving,” he nodded. 

“This isn’t my first time in here,” you laughed, managing to turn around to face him. 

The moment you did, you regretted it. You were  _ so _ close to him. There was only around an inch of space between you, and now you were pressed together, you couldn’t help but look up at him.

“I guess we call Charlie,” he suggested.

“Yeah,” you said, suddenly distracted by his scent. 

You called Charlie and once he stopped laughing he said he he’d be back soon to let you out.

You wriggled, trying your best to press your back against the shelf behind you. 

“You okay?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Why?”

“Well it seems like you’d rather be anywhere but here right now,” he smirked, watching you wriggling and backing up.

“No, I’m just trying to give you space,” you promised.

“I’m fine,” he assured you. 

“Tell that to your massive bruise,” you noted, glancing down at his side. 

“Oh, yeah, you saw that?” he asked. 

“What happened?” you asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and took a second too long to answer, like he didn’t think he’d have to tell a story before you asked.

“I got hit,” he said. “Bicyclist got me at a good clip.”

You nodded, watching his features closely. It was a lie, you knew. But why? He was so clearly uncomfortable. Maybe the truth was embarrassing, but still, this is what you’d drawn the line in the sand for.

The closet felt extra small once you had been staring at him for a few moments. He’d gotten past the lie and seemed to be just watching you now. 

“If you want to tell me the real reason, you can,” you answered quietly, managing to keep your gaze.

He blinked, clearly not expecting that response.

“Jesus, you know you’re very good at reading me,” he laughed. 

“Maybe you’re just a bad liar,” you shrugged. 

“I’m not,” he promised. 

He took a microstep towards you, placing his hands on your arms. You couldn’t help your sharp intake of breath that you hoped wasn’t audible to him. He was close now, his chest touching yours. 

For a moment, you thought he might tell you what had actually happened to him, but he didn’t. 

“We still have that dinner to go to,” he said seriously. “If you’d like to.”

You bit your lip, unsure. You wanted to go, to be his friend. But he had not only just lied to you, but admitted he’d lied to you and still not told you the truth. If he wanted to obscure certain portions of his life, why not just say he’d rather not tell you? Why did he feel like he had to mislead you? That wasn’t something friends did, was it?

“I don’t know,” you admitted. 

It was things like this, inviting you to dinner, hanging out with you all day, that didn’t feel like he wanted to keep you at arm’s length. The signals were confusing to say the least.

“Hey,” he said softly, lifting your gaze by putting a finger under your chin. “I’m sorry that I can’t tell you everything, at least right now.”

“Why not?” you asked. 

The question looked like it pained him. 

“I just, can’t,” he sighed. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t trust you, and it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be your friend.”

The way he was holding you, finger under your chin, hand on your arm, keeping you close, didn’t quite feel platonic to you.

“So let me take you out to dinner.”

You sighed, wondering what you were getting yourself into with this. Feelings inside you were warring, and alongside it your common sense was wavering.

You heard the door handle jiggling from outside along with Charlie’s voice. 

“Okay,” you said to Dick before Charlie opened the door. 

“I think we know the next thing for Mr. Grayson to fix,” Charlie laughed. 

***

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. You shouldn’t have been in your bathroom for the last hour trying to get your eyeliner exactly right, or you hair to curl  _ just _ the right amount.

But it was, and you had been.

“It’s not a date,” you said, out loud to yourself. It wasn’t the first time that hour that you’d said that either. And yet it didn’t stop the butterflies in your stomach, or your obsessive checking of your dress for lint.

Dick was picking you up for your dinner in just a few minutes now. You paced the length of your livingroom while you waited. Finally, you heard the knock on the door. Initially, you rushed, but you caught yourself, pausing for a breath before opening the door. 

At first you didn’t see a face, just flowers. But he lowered them, and behind them you saw his big smile. He was wearing an incredible blue suit that brought out his eyes. 

“For you,” he offered the flowers. 

_ It’s not a date, _ you repeated in your head. Flowers, though, your brain fought back.

“You shouldn’t have,” you laughed, taking the flowers. “They’re lovely.”

“They’re my sorry-I-had-to-cancel-last-minute-last-time flowers,” he nodded, following you inside while you found a vase. 

“Oh, it was… fine,” you promised. It would have been fine if you actually knew what he was doing. “So, we ready to go?” you asked. 

“We are,” he promised.

You walked outside, expecting to see his Porsche, but instead you saw a small limo. You glanced around, thinking you must have just missed his car somewhere, but he led you over to the car. 

“I thought I’d go all out tonight,” he said. “I hope it’s okay.”

You blinked, unsure if it was.  _ It’s not a date, _ you promised yourself. But wasn’t it? Flowers, a  _ limo? _

“I’ve never ridden in a limo before,” you managed. He opened the door for you and you slipped in. He followed, rapping on the dark glass between the back and the driver before he sat down. The car started moving. 

It was dimly lit in the limo, but very nice. The leather seats were comfortable, and you reveled in the feeling of luxury. He was right. You needed to be kinder to yourself, let yourself enjoy some things.

“You like it?” he asked, watching you smile and take in your surroundings. 

“It’s fun,” you said, “Thank you.”

He hummed happily and the two of you made easy conversation until reaching the restaurant. 

The driver got out and opened the door for you. Dick shook his hand and the two of you were left in front of your destination. 

It was a charming facade. It was an Italian restaurant, with warm red brick outside and fairy lights strung all around. The inside was much the same, cozy and inviting. You didn’t feel as out of place as you thought you might. Certainly people were dressed much nicer than you, but as you shrugged off your coat to hand to the coat room attendant, it didn’t seem to matter much to Dick. 

“You look amazing,” he nearly stammered.

You realized you’d greeted him at the door in your coat, and he hadn’t seen your dress yet. Your neckline was a bit deeper than you were used to, and the skirt a bit short, but the material was expensive, and it made the dress look fancier than perhaps it was.

“Thanks,” you muttered. “We clean up okay, huh?”

“Well, I don’t know about me,” he laughed. 

“You look great, Dick,” you said, taking his hand in yours before thinking of it. 

He didn’t retract it, as you thought he might. Instead he squeezed your hand, and kept it as you were escorted to your table. 

Unsurprisingly it was the best table in the place, with a beautiful view of the courtyard out back.

Only when you sat down did you feel overwhelmed. So many utensil options.

“Would you like to start with some wine?” the waiter asked. 

Dick looked to you for your opinion. 

“Yeah,” you shrugged. “Why not.”

“What would you like, madam?” the waiter asked. 

“Oh,” you muttered, looking at the list of wines more expensive than your entire collection of shoes. “Ummm.”

“We’ll have a bottle of the 2008 Dom Pérignon,” Dick smiled at the waiter.

“Of course, sir,” he nodded. “I’ll leave you to your menus, though I should mention that the chef is a big fan of your, erm, father, and has mentioned she will prepare anything you would like, regardless of its presence on the menu.”

“Thank you,” Dick nodded. The waiter left.

You snickered. 

“What?” he smirked. 

“Do you think we could get her to make us like, Kraft mac and cheese?”

Dick let out a laugh louder than he’d anticipated, drawing a few stares. He put his hand to his face and tried to stop laughing. 

“I’m half tempted now,” he said when he recovered. 

“Does that happen a lot?” you asked, semi-seriously. “People mentioning Bruce, how great he is and all that jazz?”

Dick nodded, not quite meeting your gaze. 

“More often than you’d think,” he admitted. 

“Can’t be fun always living in someone’s shadow,” you lamented. 

“That’s part of why I moved away,” he said. “Why I want to give back in my own way.”

You nodded, seeing that part of him more clearly now. 

“So,” you said, eying the menu. “Kraft, or…”

He chuckled again but looked at the menu. 

“What do you think of starting with the bruschetta?” he asked.

“Mmm, yes please,” you smiled. 

“Then I might have to try the risotto,” he said. “Can’t beat a classic.”

“Oh that’s a good choice,” you said. “I might have to try it too.”

“Why don't we get a few things and just share?” he suggested. 

“Dick Grayson,” you said, reaching your hand over the table. “You’re a very smart man.”

He laughed and turned his attention back to the menu. You picked out a few more things to try, and you vaguely wondered if a classy place like this ever did leftover boxes.

You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that he was treating you to a place like this. It would have been one thing if you couldn have returned the favor another night, but it would take you months to save up that kind of dough. Still, you didn’t think Dick would want you to anyway. Tonight was about treating yourself, he had said, and you were trying to do that.

Your wine arrived and the waiter took your order after he poured. You took a sip and Dick raised his eyebrow, asking for an opinion. 

You pretended to know what you were doing, swirling your glass and tasting it as you drank, to comical lengths. 

“It tastes… like wine,” you nodded, smiling. 

“That it does,” he laughed. 

“Sorry, I wouldn’t know an $8 bottle from a $100, I’m afraid it’s wasted on me.”

“Do you like it?” he asked. You nodded. “Then it’s not wasted.”

You smiled shyly and took another sip. You hadn’t eaten much today and the wine was going to your head already. You felt quite pleasantly buzzed, and suddenly noticed just how beautiful Dick was. You caught yourself staring when he asked you if he something in his teeth. 

“No,” you laughed. “Sorry, it’s just…” you laughed. “Nothing.”

“What?” he asked. 

“Nothing, it’s embarrassing,” you said. 

“Well now you definitely have to tell me,” he smirked. 

You sighed, wondering if you should have slowed down on the wine before you ate. But it was too late now, your mouth was going without your permission. 

“You know how you meet some people, and they’re gorgeous, but then you talk to them, and they suck?” you asked. He smiled slightly, waiting for you to continue. “I think I thought you were going to suck, because you’re gorgeous, and you know, that’s usually it for a person. They’re just gorgeous. But then,” you sighed, not quite meeting his gaze. “Then you came in and were  _ nice _ . And you cared about me before you even knew me. And you were good with the kids, and the seniors. And you helped us out. And you… You’re not just beautiful, Dick. You’re  _ beautiful _ , you know?”

You looked up just in time to see him wipe something away from his eye. He was going to say something, but the waiters came by with your meals, placing plates in front of you, obstructing your view of him. 

“Thank you,” you both muttered to the waiters as they left. 

There was a silence, and you couldn’t meet his gaze. You’d ruined it. Your stupid wine mouth had made this night uncomfortable. 

“Look at me,” he said softly. It wasn’t a command, but a quiet request. You managed to lift your gaze. He reached his hand across the table and slipped it into yours. “First of all, I  _ knew _ you thought I was gorgeous, and not just objectively not disgusting.”

You let out a loud laugh and clutched your free hand over your mouth to stifle the rest of it. He smiled, his eyes crinkling. 

“Secondly, coming from you, that means the world. When I first got to Blüdhaven, when I first got to the center, I was in awe of you. You’re a one woman show. Yeah, Charlie helps, but it’s your baby. You help  _ so many people _ ,” he said earnestly. “And you give more of yourself than I think you know. And you  _ love _ it,” he said. “You genuinely love helping people. And that’s rare. That’s so rare.”

You felt your own tears welling up, but took a breath and tried to relax with a smile. 

“Fuck,” you laughed nervously. “Well, if this isn’t a dual self-care, or self-appreciation night, I don’t know what is.”

“Speaking of,” he nodded down to the food. 

“Oh, yes,” you smiled. 

You dug in, sharing the plates and letting out embarrassing sounds of enjoyment. 

“Is everything to your liking?” the waiter asked when you both had mouthfuls of food.

You both just gave a thumbs up. The waiter smiled, as if he were talking to children, and left you alone. When you were both stuffed, you leaned back in your chairs and smiled. 

“We fought valiantly,” you noted, looking at the mostly finished plates.

“We die heroes,” he nodded, closing his eyes. 

“Can I interest you in dessert?” the waiter asked.    
Dick looked at you with wide eyes and you both shook your heads.

“Too stuffed,” Dick said. “Compliments to the chef. Just the check please.”

“Oh, sir, it is on the house,” the waiter conveyed. “The chef was in one of Martha Wayne’s orphanages as a child. She remembers them fondly.”

Dick looked surprised, and cast a glance at you.

“I have to go thank her,” Dick said, standing up. 

You followed as the waiter led you into the kitchen. The night was winding down, and the kitchen wasn’t too busy. You saw the chef in the back. She didn’t look much older than Dick. You were impressed she’d made so much of herself at such a young age. As you approached, the waiter introduced you.    
“Amanda,” the chef smiled as she took Dick’s hand in hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Grayson.”

“We wanted to thank you for the delicious meal,” he said. “Our waiter mentioned you were in one of Martha’s orphanages?”

She smiled sadly and nodded. 

“My parents died not long after Mr. Wayne adopted you,” she explained. “He’d just had a new wing built in your name in one of the orphanages. That’s the wing I was sent to.”

“Wow,” you marveled. “What are the odds of us coming here and meeting you?”

“I know,” she smiled. “It was from that orphanage that I was adopted, and my family taught me a love for cooking. I remember falling asleep, looking at a large portrait of you across from my bed,” she laughed. “And now we’re both grown up.”

Dick smiled warmly at her as he slipped an arm around your waist absently, pulling you closer to him. 

“I’m so glad they were able to see you through that time,” Dick said. “And please, if you ever need anything, let me know. I’d be happy to help. You’re a truly talented chef.”

She blushed and nodded. 

“That means a lot coming from you,” she said. “Thank you.”

“It was lovely to meet you,” Dick said. “I hope you have a great rest of your night, and thank you again so much. I’m sure we’ll be back.”

You said your goodbyes and exited the kitchen. 

“What now?” you asked. 

“I could do with a bit of a walk?” Dick suggested, exaggerating how big his stomach was. 

“Yes,” you laughed. “Sounds perfect.”

“We’ll just call the driver when we feel like it,” he smiled.

The night was warm, but the clouds obstructed any view of the stars. It was quiet, as it was getting pretty late. But that didn’t matter. The silence between you was comfortable. Dick had slipped his hand into yours and for the fiftieth time this evening you had to try to convince yourself this wasn’t a date. Or if it was meant to be, you couldn’t allow it. 

“Did you feel that?” Dick asked, putting his hand palm up. “I’ll call the driver now just in case.” 

“I don’t feel anything,” you answered, just before the skies opened up.

Out of nowhere, it started pouring, drenching the two of you before you could run for cover. There didn’t seem to be many shops still open, and the rest seemed to be apartment buildings. You finally found a storefront that had an awning to protect you, but by then you were totally soaked. The awning was tiny, forcing you to stand facing Dick, chest to chest. You were both laughing so hard. When you finally caught your breath, you got to look up and see his smile. And it was beautiful. And you stood by what you’d said before about his inner beauty. It radiated out of him. He moved some hair out of your face, smoothing it back among the wet mess that was your hair now. His hand lingered there, on your jawline and he guided you to him. 

It was as natural, as simple as breathing to kiss him. You stood slightly on your toes, lifting up to meet him.

You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him closer to you and reveling in the response your body had to him. It felt like a missing piece had been slipped into place, and you wanted to be closer. After a moment, you both fell away, taking a moment to gaze into the other’s eyes. 

Dick’s phone rang. It was the driver looking for you. 

“Shall we?” he asked. 

You nodded and followed him back into the rain to the waiting car. You scrambled inside and Dick let him know to go back to your apartment. 

You sat close to him during the ride, tracing patterns on his arm with your fingers while you thought. 

That kiss. It had been a date, regardless as to what it had started out as. You wanted to kiss him again, to never stop kissing him. But you couldn’t. You wouldn’t do that to yourself, not when there was so much he was hiding from you. 

You arrived at your apartment, and Dick told the car to wait while he walked you up. 

“I guess this would have been the part where I would have tried to give you a goodnight kiss,” he smirked. You chuckled slightly. “But that seems to have already happened.”

“It has,” you nodded. 

“And… it wasn’t good?” Dick asked, reading the hesitation on your face.

“It was great,” you said, feeling emotion rising to your throat, making your voice tight. 

“Okay,” Dick laughed, somewhat nervously. “Then why does it look you might cry?”

You pressed your lips together, trying to avoid just that.

“Because I can’t do this,” you said, taking a step back. “I can’t be vulnerable with you if you’re not vulnerable with me.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“You disappear for days at a time and you won’t tell me where. This time you came back with a serious bruise. I mean what’re you in fight club or something?”

He sighed and nodded. 

“I want this,” you explained. “But I can’t do it if I’m the only one that’s totally in it. And I get that you have your secrets, I get that you have your reasons, and that’s fine. But I can’t do this if that’s the case.”

You searched his face for answers, and he seemed to be debating something.    
“If I tell you what I am, it could put you in danger,” he said seriously. 

“What?” you asked, confused. “What do you mean  _ what _ you are?”

“I’m going to do something very selfish,” he said, almost to himself. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

“What?” you gaped. He turned and left, almost running down the hallway. 

You stayed in the hallway for a moment, wondering what the fuck was going on. After a few moments in soaked clothes, you couldn’t take it anymore and drew a bubble bath. That helped relax you. An hour, he’d said. Who knew if he was coming back at all, truly. Still, you put on pajamas and waited, too distracted to watch anything but reruns of your favorite show while you paced your living room. 

It had stopped raining, and you almost wished it hadn’t. The rain against the windows would have calmed you. But it was just quiet. And then your phone rang. It was Dick. 

“Come to the roof,” he said.

That was all, before he hung up. You grabbed a light jacket and headed to the roof. You’d only been up there a handful of times since moving. There wasn’t much up there and the view wasn’t anything but other, taller, buildings. Opening the door, you waited till your eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. 

A man stood with his back to you a few yards away. The posture and colors were familiar. You’d seen them in the alleyway, you realized. When that man had attempted to mug you. He turned slowly, and took off his mask. 

“Dick,” you breathed.

Dick was Nightwing.

Dick was Nightwing.

“I didn’t know how to just tell you,” he explained. 

You held your breath, walking stiffly towards him. Your hand stretched out without your consent. You couldn’t look at his face, your eyes were on the emblem. The emblem that Blüdhaven had adopted as their protector. You moved your hands over the fabric. It felt thicker than it looked. You smiled to yourself remembering what the kids had said about his “tights”.

“You’re Nightwing,” you said aloud, finally looking him in the face. 

“And I’m obscenely selfish for telling you,” he said. He took your hands from his chest and held them in his. “If people knew who I was, bad people… they could hurt you to get to me,” he explained. “But the thought of losing you now… You not knowing who I really was… it seemed worse to me. And I know it was selfish but--”

You cut him off with a kiss, pressing your body as close to his as you could. When you pulled away, you leaned your forehead against his. 

“I’m glad you told me,” you promised. 

Your mind was racing, and it landed on a particular comment you’d said to Nightwing.    
“So you kinda know I wasn’t okay that day going to the bank,” you smirked, pulling away from him. 

“Yeah,” Dick laughed. 

“I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t handle myself,” you shrugged. 

“I only followed you in case you needed backup,” he promised. “As soon as you left I grabbed my bag and came after.”

“I’m glad you did,” you admitted. “I think it’s kinda like you said... I need to work on allowing people to help me.”

“So what does this mean for us?” he asked. 

You sighed, unsure. 

“It means I trust you completely now,” you said. “And I guess it means you trust me.”

“I do,” he smiled. 

“You wanna go inside and talk about it over some tea?” you offered. 

He nodded. You grabbed his hand and led him down to your apartment. It seemed surreal, like a weird dream you’d both laugh at the next day. You made your tea and sat down on the couch, crossing your legs over his and resting your shoulder against the couch. He’d changed back to his normal clothes while the water was boiling, but the suit lay on the table. 

“I still don’t know what I’m going to do with him,” Dick said, nodding towards the suit. “I know I’m not Batman, and I’m not sure I fit in with the Titans anymore either. I came to Blüdhaven to figure out… I don’t know… what my legacy is I guess.”

You were absently running your fingers through his hair as he spoke.

“Right,” you nodded. 

You hadn’t considered that part of him. That he worked with all the other heroes out there. Just learning his identity was enough to process for now though. You were silent for a moment. 

“Aren’t you going to ask me who Batman is?” Dick asked with a sly smile. 

You furrowed your brow and shook your head. 

“That’s not your secret to tell,” you answered. “I would never ask that of you.”

You couldn’t tell if he would have told you or not. It didn’t seem like a test, but his proud smile made it seem like you’d passed an accidental one. 

“Well, maybe one day you’ll meet him,” he said. “And the rest of my family.”

Family. You had considered his only family to be Bruce and Alfred. But now... his world was a lot more extensive than you’d thought. And a lot more intimidating. It wasn’t just that he was adopted into a well off family, now you had super friends to contend with. How could you possibly match up?

“You’re quiet,” he said. “Which scares me.”

You put down your tea and straddled him, kneeling so you were face to face. 

“You’ll get bored with me,” you said. 

“I won’t,” he promised. 

“But you know  _ Superman _ . You mess with Raven and Batman,” you shook your head. “I am a boring community center lady.”

He shook his head. 

“You’re  _ everything, _ ” he said. And you could see that he meant it. “Those guys… they have different abilities, sure. But none of them have your kindness, your spirit. None of them can make me laugh like you, or check myself like you. I’ll never get tired of you teasing me about Ethel, or staring at me while I play shirtless basketball.” You gaped and blushed. “Yeah I saw you that first day,” he laughed. You shoved him playfully. 

“Can you blame me?” you chuckled. “Also this explains why you’re in such good shape. And why you took down Mike so easily.”

“When I had to leave you those times, I was fighting really bad dudes,” he promised. “I really had no time to tell you anything. And turns out it’s nearly impossible to lie to you anyway,” he shrugged.

You kissed him lightly. 

“Thank you for telling me,” you said seriously. 

You kissed again, deeper this time, and rocked your hips against his. You knew what was between you now, and there was no use in denying it. You heard him moan softly into your mouth and smiled. He picked you up, and you wrapped your legs around his waist as he carried you to his bedroom. 

Although you’d tried to stop yourself from picturing this moment with him, it was everything you’d wanted it to be. He was kind, passionate, eager. He was giving, desperate, and tender. You came together and unraveled in each others arms. You laid together on your bed after with your head on his chest. 

“That was…” he trailed off. 

“You’re a real poet,” you laughed. He tousled you playfully on his chest. 

You sat up to look at him, but his eyes grazed over your body, taking their time now that he could. 

“So what do we do now?” you asked. He smirked and arched his brow suggestively. You rolled your eyes. “You know what I mean… What does this make us?”

“Well,” he said, sitting up with you. “What would you like it to make us?”

You bit your lip. 

“Boyfriend seems… so pedestrian,” you laughed. “What do you call it when you’re dating a superhero?”

“Oh, I’m a superhero still? Not a vigilante?” he smirked. 

You laughed. 

“Well, you were a vigilante before I knew who was behind the mask making the calls,” you offered. “Now that I know it’s someone I trust… Yeah, a superhero.”

He smiled proudly and thought for a moment. 

“Whatever you’d like to label it, just know, I am  _ yours _ , and yours alone.”

You smiled and blushed as you nodded. 

“And I am yours,” you promised. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is this moving too fast? maybe! am I just bad at summarizing longer periods of time? yes!


	6. Chapter 6

Once you knew that Dick was Nightwing, things got easier. You thought it might have been the opposite, that things would be more complicated, but somehow it wasn’t. You knew where he was when he couldn’t text you back. All you had to do was follow Nightwing blogs or watch the news. And you worried, of course, but you’d seen up close what he could do. He could handle himself.    
Your nightmares virtually vanished. You guessed sleeping next to Blüdhaven’s vigilante did something to your psyche to make you feel like Mike would never be an issue again.

You’d more or less moved into his place in the following weeks. It wasn’t official, and you still made it back to your apartment at least on the nights when he was out as Nightwing. You didn’t mind the alone time. You were used to it, and you used it to get stuff done. 

One night you woke up in his bed, and he wasn’t there. You heard him, though, tapping away on his laptop in the living room. You grabbed a robe and wandered out there, leaning over the couch to kiss his cheek. He jumped. 

“Sorry,” you laughed. “Figured you’d hear me coming.”

You slipped over the back of the couch to sit next to him. 

“Sorry,” he muttered. “Must have been too wrapped up.”

You looked at the angry faces and pictures of guns on the screen. 

“What’s going on?” you asked. 

“Illegal arms shipments are coming in tomorrow night,” he said. “I’ve been gathering intel for a while now, but I can’t figure out the best way to take them down. They’re meeting at the pier, and there’s only really one way in and out. I’m afraid they’d see me coming. 

You looked at the pier in question. It was a lesser used one, for sure, but you’d lived in this city your whole life. 

“Can you swim?” you asked with a mischievous grin. 

“Yeah,” he answered, confused. 

You pointed to one of the posts holding up the pier. 

“That pier used to be a hot spot for dates, and legend has it that an old perv built in like, handles to climb up on the poles, so he could look up the girls’ skirts.”

“Gross,” Dick cringed. “But… useful. I’ll check into it.”

You smiled and yawned, ready to leave him to his work now. As you got up, he gently grabbed your hand and pulled it to his lips for a kiss. 

“Thanks,” he said. 

You leaned down and kissed his forehead before getting some water and heading back to bed. 

Turns out, you were right. Dick was able to use those old handles to climb up and surprise them from below. He managed to take the operation down, but not without getting a nasty gash in his side. 

“Ummm are you sure?” you asked, holding the needle as he had requested. 

“I’m sure,” he said. “I’d do it myself but I don’t think I can reach.”

You bit your lip, looking at the gaping wound on your boyfriend. 

“Just like mending a garment,” you said to yourself. 

You did your best to stitch him up, and then gave him an ice pack. He sat on the kitchen island for a moment, just enjoying the cold on his side. 

“Do you think you’ll do this forever?” you asked. It wasn’t judgemental, you weren’t for or against the idea, you just wanted to know. He laughed.    
“I already have the joints of a man twice my age, I’m sure,” Dick said. “So… no. I’d imagine it’d be physically impossible.” He waited for a moment, thinking. “I guess it’s part of what I talked to you about when I first told you,” he admitted. “I came here to find what my legacy will be. Because realistically, it won’t be Nightwing. Not forever.”

“I’ll be here to help with that,” you promised, rising up on your tip toes to kiss him. “Whatever you wanna do.”

He slid off the counter and pulled you into a hug. You buried your face in his chest and wrapped your arms around him, careful to avoid his new stitches. 

“How would you feel about dinner in Gotham?” he asked, pulling away from the hug to gauge your reaction. 

“A bit of a drive,” you answered. “Why, is there another orphan chef who’ll treat us to something yummy?” 

He chuckled and shook his head. 

“I don't think Bruce can cook,” he said. 

You blinked. Oh. He wanted you to meet his adoptive father.

“Unless… you don’t want to,” he said, eyes going a little wide.

“Oh my god, no I do, I just… I didn’t realize that’s what you were asking.”

He relaxed a little. 

“I just… You’re important to me, and so is he. It feels like that’s the only part of my life you haven’t seen yet.”

You smiled and nodded.    
“I would love to,” you said. 

“Great,” he smiled. “I told him we’d be there at seven, barring your disapproval.”

“What do I wear?” you asked, mainly to yourself. 

“Whatever you’d like,” he said, kissing your forehead and heading to the shower.

Easy for him to say. He looked good in everything. While he showered, you rifled through the clothes that you had here. When he saw you going through all your stuff he chuckled.    
“Relax,” he said. 

“I’m gonna have to go back to my place and get all my shit,” you said. “I wanna make sure I dress to impress.”

“I can promise, it won’t matter what you wear,” Dick said. 

“Not to you!” you laughed. “But I want to make a good first impression. This man raised you, for the most part, and I don’t want him to think you brought home… I don’t know… someone who’s…” you trailed off, not wanting to dis yourself, but also knowing the pressure you felt when comparing Dick and Bruce to yourself. 

Dick took your hand and led you to the bed to sit down for a moment. 

“I know you think there’s a difference between you and Bruce because of money or whatever, but I promise, he’s the nicest, most down to earth billionaire I know,” he laughed. “You don’t need to impress him, not for my sake or your own.”

You sighed, knowing he was right, but still feeling anxious. 

“I am excited,” you promised. “I just… It’s meeting the parents, you know? I only get one shot. And you… don’t get any.”

He nodded understandingly. 

“Does Bruce know?” you asked. “About you being Nightwing?”

“Yes,” Dick nodded. “He knows.”

“Does he approve?”

“Yeah,” Dick smiled. “He does. So you don’t have to worry about keeping secrets or anything. And please, try to enjoy yourself,” he joked. 

“Ugh, fine,” you feigned drama. “I suppose I could  _ try _ to enjoy a night at a famous billionaire’s house with my boyfriend.”

He chuckled and kissed your head as he stood up and went to get changed. You told Charlie you’d be leaving early the following day, and when you told him why, he was excited for you. 

“It’s a big step,” he said excitedly over the morning coffee you shared. “Meeting the parents.”

You’d told Charlie about the two of you dating when it happened, and he’d been nothing but supportive. 

“And meeting Bruce Wayne?” he fanned himself. “Not a bad perk.”

You laughed and rolled your eyes. 

“I’m nervous,” you admitted. “All I know about him is from the papers.”

“That’s more than he knows about you,” Charlie shrugged. “I’d say you have the advantage here. You get to write your own introduction for him.”

You smiled and nodded. He had a good point. You could decide on your first impression. And the impression you wanted was one that cared for his adoptive son. You finished up a little early at the center and went home to get changed. 

You pulled out an evening gown you’d made for a charity event last year, and did your best on your hair and makeup. You were reminded of your date with Dick. So much had changed since then. But here you were again, dressing up to impress him, even if it was by proxy. You’d never cared so much what someone and their family thought about you. Nothing had ever mattered this much. And it kind of scared you, something mattering so much. It was a new feeling. 

Dick picked you up in the Porsche and you drove the forty-five minutes to Gotham. The cities had a similar feel, you thought. They both had so much potential, but were tinged with an air of danger and corruption. 

You arrived at Wayne Manor promptly at seven. You saw that a camera was perched on top of the gate posts, and when you pulled up, the gates slowly opened for you without any signal.

You drove the long driveway to the house that looked more like a small castle. You weren’t sure when it had been built, but it looked almost gothic. It was gorgeous to be sure, but it seemed too big, even for three people. 

“Did you ever get lonely?” you asked, as you were getting closer to the end of the driveway. “It’s so large.”

“I should have guessed you’d ask something like that,” Dick smirked. “Instead of, ‘Wow, look at that mansion.’ You’re worried about baby me.”

You blinked, realizing he was right. 

“Did it though?” you asked, genuinely interested. 

“Yes,” he answered. “A lot of dark rooms. Hide and seek with Alfred lasted for hours.”

He gave you a cocky grin before parking the car. He opened your door for you and held your hand as you walked up the massive stone steps. The doors were at least twice your height. You didn’t even have to knock before they opened. 

You expected to see their butler, but instead, Bruce Wayne stood before you.

He looked just as he had in every paper and news show you’d seen. He seemed a little taller in person, and his presence was magnetic. You felt the same assessment that you’d felt with Dick the first time he saw you. Bruce glanced over you, but you felt like he knew everything about you in that glance.

“Bruce,” Dick smiled, dropping your hand to hug his father.

Bruce’s neutral face melted into a smile as he hugged his son. 

“Good to see you, Dick,” he said. 

Dick stepped to his side and gestured to you. 

“This is my girl,” he said proudly, giving your name. 

“It’s a pleasure,” you said, your hand trembling as you proffered it to Bruce.

“The pleasure is mine,” he assured you, shaking your hand. “Please, come in.”

Dick wrapped his arm around your waist and you both followed Bruce into the foyer. The inside of the mansion was no less stunning than the outside. Expensive art hung on the wall, fine rugs adorned the hardwood. There was so much to look at, and you found yourself staring open mouthed. 

“Would you like a tour?” Bruce asked. “You seem quite enamoured,” he said, amused. 

“I don’t mean to stare,” you laughed. “It’s just… I mean you must know you have a beautiful house. Thank you again for inviting me to dinner.”

“My parents were very lucky to have acquired such a beauty,” Bruce agreed. “And I’m sure they would have loved to meet you too. They loved hosting dinners.” He paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before starting the tour. “Let’s start over this way,” he smiled. 

He led you through an opulent living room and towards the kitchen. In the kitchen, you saw Alfred, presumably, puttering around.

“Ah, Alfred, meet our guest,” Bruce said, introducing you. 

The older man turned to face you with a warm smile, his gaze sliding easily between you and Dick. 

“Oh, wow are you making pasta primavera?” you asked, looking at the ingredients collected. “Do you want any help?” you asked. 

There was a small silence in the room, and for a moment, it seemed like you’d said something wrong. You saw Bruce share a look with Dick that you couldn’t read, and then it was shared with Alfred, before the men turned to you. 

“No, my dear,” Alfred finally laughed. “You’re a  _ guest _ .”

“You don’t need to help  _ everyone _ , love,” Dick laughed, kissing your temple.

You blushed and shrugged, feeling perhaps more embarrassed than you should have been. In your experience, people helped make dinner together. You weren’t used to someone catering it for you.

Bruce seemed to think for a moment and turned to you. 

“Why don’t we leave Alfred with some help,actually,” he offered. “Dick, would you like to hang back while I show (Y/N) the rest of the manor?”

Dick looked a little unsure, and looked to you for your approval. You nodded slightly and smiled, telling him it was fine, and he agreed. Bruce led the way, and soon the two of you were alone, wandering around his mansion. At first he was actually giving you a tour, telling you of the rooms and their purposes, but soon, he just wanted to get to know you a little. 

“Dick tells me your work at the Blüdhaven community center is very impressive,” he said. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” you laughed awkwardly. You’d never been good at accepting compliments. “I do what I can.”

“Well, the way he paints it, you’re basically the saint of that city.”

“There’s quite a few community centers,” you explained. “We’re in a smaller section. But we do alright. I like the people there.” Another silence. “So I guess this is the part where you ask me about my intentions with your son?” you half-joked. 

Bruce was an intimidating man to be around. You hadn’t been able to tell under the suits he wore in the news casts you’d seen him in, but he was strong, well built. But it wasn’t just that. There was an emotional intelligence too, something you hadn’t necessarily anticipated. Bruce ruminated on your question for a moment before shaking his head. 

“No, I know what your intentions are,” he decided. You looked surprised at this response and he chuckled softly. “You know of Dick’s start in the circus?” he prompted. You nodded. “He doesn’t have that safety net below him anymore,” Bruce said. “Nothing to catch him should he fall. Or should I say, he didn’t. Until you.”

You took a moment to think about that. 

“You’re the thing that will keep him getting back up, getting out there again. As Nightwing, yes, but also as Dick Grayson.”

It felt strange to hear Bruce mention Nightwing. To have someone else say it, to verify that your boyfriend was Blüdhaven’s vigilante was strange to say the least.

“How do you know that from just meeting me?” you asked. 

“I know a lot about you,” Bruce promised. “I don’t mean to seem cynical, but you wouldn’t be surprised to know more than a few suitors have plagued this family for… less than honorable reasons.”

Their money, you realized. The thought made you nauseous. 

“Dick said not to mention it, but I do want you to know, we looked into you. Checked you out, as they say,” Bruce said. You nodded, feeling somewhat invaded, but also understanding. If you had billions of dollars, you might want to make sure your son wasn’t dating a golddigger, or worse.

“I understand,” you said, knowing he wouldn’t find more than a parking ticket or two.

“I do appreciate that,” Bruce smiled softly. “Your understanding, I mean.”

“And I am assuming you didn’t find anything dastardly?” you chuckled.

“No,” he laughed. “And I trust my son,” he said seriously. “And Dick trusts you,” he said. You’d reached a study, and stood before a grandfather clock. “And so do I.”

Bruce turned the hands of the clock, and you were unsure why, until you heard a clicking sound, and the clock opened. 

Secret doorways perhaps should have been expected in a mansion as vast and interesting as this one. Still, your heart was pounding, and a smile spread across your face as you looked at Bruce.    
“Cool,” was all you could manage.

Bruce gestured for you to go through. You did so, wondering if Dick knew what the two of you were up to. Where did this secret passage go?

You walked through a hallway that turned from actual wall into something more like rock. You finally emerged into… a cave. 

It took a little while to process the objects in front of you. There were massive screens taking up most of the area with a large panel full of buttons and keyboards. But the main event was what you’d only seen in the news in a blur: the Batmobile.

It was like there were two wires in your brain that just weren’t connecting. You knew the concept, but you couldn’t form the thoughts. You turned to Bruce, open-mouthed. 

“Like I said. Dick trusts you. Nightwing trusts you. So I do.”

“You’re… You’re…”

“He’s Batman,” you heard Dick say. 

He’d come from a different entrance, and walked up to stand behind you. He wrapped his arms around your waist, grounding what felt like your weightless body.

“Do you always have to be so dramatic, Bruce?” he smirked. 

Bruce shrugged minutely, but was still watching for your reaction. You didn’t know what your face was doing.  _ Bruce Wayne _ was Batman? 

“Do you need to sit down, madam?” Alfred asked. He’d trailed in slightly after Dick. Maybe you looked paler than you felt. 

“No, I’m okay,” you laughed finally. “I just… I mean you must know it’s a lot to take in.”

“We do,” Bruce smiled kindly. “And you can do just that… over that lovely dinner Alfred was kind enough to make us?”

You nodded, looking forward to the walk back to the dining room to process what had just happened. It made sense, you realized. Why Dick, why Nightwing would work so closely with Batman. Honestly you were blind  _ not _ to see it. Still, it was a little bit crazy. You had a lot of questions, but you didn’t want to bombard them. You were sure whoever they’d told before must have done just that, and they were sure to be tired of it. You could ask Dick whenever you pleased later, you realized. You had all the time in the world.

Alfred had managed to set up an entire dinner while you’d been exploring with Bruce. Everything was laid out perfectly on the too-long dining table. You took your seat across from Dick at one end of the table while Bruce sat at the end. Alfred poured your wine and then left the room. 

You’d all started eating, and a silence had fallen. 

“I mean… I guess what else  _ is _ there to talk about after you find out who Batman is?” you laughed nervously.

There was a beat before both men laughed. 

“Is this what all your dinners were like after you found out?” you asked Dicked with a smile. 

“Only because he was angry at me all through his childhood,” Bruce interjected. 

“Hey, puberty is puberty, doesn’t matter where you are,” Dick shrugged. “I was mad at everything and everyone.”

“I was a nightmare too, I’m sure,” you laughed. 

“Well, whatever your parents had to put up with, it was worth it,” Bruce smiled at you.

You realized that compliment was coming from  _ Batman _ , and you couldn’t help but blush. Then you thought about Batman’s friends. And who else might have sat in this chair. 

“What’re you thinking?” Dick asked, when you’d been silent for too long. 

You pressed your lips together. You'd promised yourself that you wouldn’t ask too many Batman questions, but he just kept staring at you.

“Nothing,” you smiled. “Just… Has Wonder Woman ever sat in this seat?” 

You could feel the stars in your eyes as you asked.

Bruce chuckled. 

“I’m sure she has,” he answered. “If not, Superman surely.”

You smiled, feeling a bit childish, but incredibly happy. It hit you then, that you were privy to a large secret. Not just Dick’s secret life, but Bruce’s now too. They  _ trusted _ you. Really trusted you.

“I am so impressed by both of you,” you said suddenly, looking at the men before you.

Dick blushed and Bruce looked surprised. You felt like you needed to explain more, and hoped that you weren’t rambling.

“I just… I love your strength,” you said. “I love the endless hope you have for humanity. There’s  _ so much _ evil in this world, and even just in these cities. Evil that has  _ personally _ affected you. And yet you go out. You risk your lives with no more than a fair amount of muscle and a lot of smarts. And you stick up for people like me. For people even less fortunate than me. And you don’t do it for the recognition, because no one knows who you are. And even when the world is gassed in Joker’s chemicals, or trapped under The Riddler’s thumb, you still  _ try. _ Because… you just care.”

You were almost talking to yourself, keeping your attention on the center of the table while you gave this speech. When you’d finished you realized that you’d actually said all of this to them, and checked their reactions. Dick was smiling softly at you, and Bruce glanced from you to Dick. 

“Does she always talk like that?” Bruce asked Dick. 

Dick smiled and looked at his father.    
“It’s becoming more of thing lately, yeah,” he smiled, turning his attention back to you. 

You blushed, remembering your speech at the restaurant as well. You knew they were teasing you, but you also knew that they appreciated it. Somehow you could tell that direct communication was not this family’s strong suit. But what they’d said more or less amounted to: Thank you.

After that, things seemed to settle into an easy conversation. You mostly talked about you and your work, letting Bruce get to know you a little more. He seemed impressed with you, though you weren’t sure your efforts were that amazing. You hardly had the impact that Bruce’s donations had, you were sure. Still, he seemed to see something of a kindred spirit in you, for which you could only feel honored. 

It was mechanical for you to start picking up plates when you were done, offering to help them clean up and load the dishwasher or what have you. But you realized only a moment too late that you’d committed a faux pas. You weren’t supposed to help get the dinner ready, and neither were you supposed to help clean up. 

You could see it, mostly on Bruce’s face, that this had not been expected of you. You were ready to retract your offer, sit down, and try to make a self deprecating joke, but Bruce saved you. 

“Sure, let’s all grab something and bring it to the kitchen,” he offered. 

You sent him a small smile of gratitude and the three of you grabbed a few plates to bring to the kitchen. 

When you arrived there, Alfred was still cleaning up from cooking, and seemed a little startled when you all arrived with dirty dishes. His gaze fell to you, as he realized you must be the one responsible for this, and he smiled. He took the plates from all of you and dealt with them, while Bruce offered a night cap before you got going.

You had some nice brandy before heading out. It was getting pretty late, and while Bruce’s offer to stay was tempting, you both decided you’d rather drive now than in the morning traffic. 

You thanked Bruce again as you stood on his doorstep, realizing how much had changed in just a few hours. You had not only met the man who had raised your boyfriend, but found out he was Gotham’s hero. It was a little much, but you knew you’d wrap your head around it eventually.

The brandy had made you sleepy, and the car was warm. You reclined the seat back a little and tried to keep your eyes open as you watched him drive. 

It had started to mist, and the windshield wipers went off every so often, the only sound in the quiet car. 

“What are you thinking?” he asked quietly, half way into the drive. 

“Mmm,” you hummed. “I’m thinking I’m ready for bed.”

He chuckled. 

“And I’m thinking I’ll ask Alfred for that recipe,” you added. 

You watched him smile at this, and realized something important. It didn’t change anything.  _ Knowing _ . Not really. Nothing important, anyway. Dick was still Dick, you were still you. His father was still his father. You looked at him, the yellow street lamps bathing him in a warm glow, the sound of light rain on the car window. He parked outside his apartment building and looked at you. 

You sat up with immense effort as your body longed for sleep, and continued to stare at him. This man. This man who trusted you completely. This man who took care of you, who kept you safe, who wanted to keep this whole city safe. The words spilled out before you could stop them.

“I love you,” you said. 


	7. Chapter 7

“I love you,” you said. 

You blinked, your heart seizing up a little as the words hung in the air. Dick seemed equally surprised, and it took a moment for his features to morph into a smile. 

“I love you too,” he said, and leaned in to kiss you gently. 

You exhaled after that, not realizing you’d held your breath after what you’d said. 

“I’ve never said that to anyone,” you nearly whispered. “I mean… not like this.”

He smiled and kissed you again. 

“Then it’s even more of an honor.”

You stared at him for a moment, just letting yourself enjoy this feeling. He’d said it back. 

“We should probably get you to bed,” he laughed as your eyelids began to droop.

“Mmm,” you hummed tiredly.

He chuckled and got out of the car. He walked over and opened the door for you, nearly having to pull you up.

He wrapped an arm around your waist and the two of you walked to the elevator. You stopped him before you walked into the apartment and kissed him. Just because you wanted to. Just because you could. He kissed you back, opening the door behind him without looking. 

The two of you stumbled inside, and started to shed your jackets, but something flickered out of the corner of your eye. 

“You’re out of milk,” said someone from the kitchen.    
You rounded the corner to see a man dressed in red. 

“Woah,” he said, his face suddenly going blurry somehow. 

“Flash?” Dick asked.

“Um, yes, random citizen. It seems I have entered the wrong--”

“No, it’s fine,” Dick laughed. “She knows. She’s with me.”

The Flash stopped vibrating and his face became visible to you. You didn’t know him, but you recognized the emblem on the suit. You’d seen it in the news plenty of times. 

“Random citizen?” Dick laughed, walking over to him. 

The Flash smiled tightly, embarrassed. 

“This is (Y/N),” Dick said, letting go of your hand so you could shake hands with The Flash.

“It’s an honor…” you trailed off, realizing you didn’t know his real name. “Erm, Flash,” you said. 

“Barry,” he said. 

You realized it didn’t really matter what his last name was. It wasn’t like he was the son of a billionaire, you wouldn’t know him from any other Barry on the street. But still, you appreciated that he trusted Dick the way Bruce had. Nightwing’s word carried a lot of weight, you were beginning to realize.

“Nice to meet you, Barry,” you smiled. “Also, thanks for the heads up on the milk.”

Barry laughed and looked at Dick with an expression you couldn’t quite read. 

“What brings you to this lovely city?” Dick asked. 

You took a seat at the kitchen island, and Dick leaned against it. Barry leaned against the fridge. 

“Raven,” he said. “She was asking for you.”

“She alright?” Dick asked. 

“She is now, yeah,” Flash said. “I’m just here as a messenger of sorts. And transportation if you wanted it. She had a close call, and you know what she’s like when that happens.”

He nodded, and you made a note to ask about what that meant later.

“They’re at the tower?” Dick asked. 

Barry nodded.

“I can run you there in a minute,” he offered. 

Dick’s gaze flickered to you, as if asking for permission, but you weren’t sure why. 

“Go,” you urged. “See your friends. I’ll be here when you get back.”

Dick bit his lip, thinking for a moment. 

“How do you feel about a few trips?” he asked Barry. 

“Doesn’t matter to me,” he shrugged. “Why?”

Dick looked at you. 

“Why don’t I have Barry bring me over there, I’ll hang out with Raven, make sure she’s okay, and then Barry can bring you over. We can have a nice night in San Francisco tomorrow night, and head back in the morning,” he looked at Barry, “Express train.”

“I wouldn’t want to make Barry our express train,” you laughed. 

Barry didn’t look bothered. 

“I don’t mind,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to see how fast I can go coast to coast anyway. Would be a good way to test my speed going a few times.”

You bit your lip and shrugged. 

“I guess that sounds amazing,” you laughed. Dick smiled, and rounded the island to kiss your forehead. 

“I’ll send him back after you’re done with work tomorrow,” he promised. 

You stood and wrapped your arms around his waist. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you said. He kissed you. 

“See you tomorrow.”

He stepped back and went to go stand with The Flash. 

“Nice to meet you,” Barry smiled before immediately disappearing in a flash of red.

You were alone. 

This was not what you’d intended on the night you told Dick you loved him. Still, tomorrow you’d be in California. A mini vacation without the hassles of traveling. It did seem a fair trade.

You decided to stay at Dick’s place, though you hadn’t much since you’d gotten together. You usually went back to your place on the nights he wasn’t there. But if you weren’t going to be with him tonight of all nights, you were at least going to stay at his place. You weren’t as ashamed as you should have been when you slipped into bed and hugged his pillow close to your face just to catch the smell of him.

In the morning it was business as usual. It wasn’t a basketball day anyway, so Dick’s presence wasn’t as missed as it might have been. The day dragged knowing what was ahead, but you made it through somehow. 

When you got home, Barry was waiting for you. You’d packed a small bag with a change of clothes and some other items, and grabbed it before heading to stand next to the speedster.

“Some people throw up the first time,” he warned, wrapping his arm around you. “Don’t be embarrassed if it happens.”

You weren’t looking forward to that part of it, but nodded. The world turned into a blur around you, and you understood why Barry had put his arm to brace your neck. You surely would have died of extreme whiplash if he hadn’t. Still, you felt protected and supported as he raced you across the country. You had to close your eyes for most of it or they’d have dried out. In the space of less than a minute, you had time to think about how messed up your hair was going to be, but that was about it before you stopped moving. 

You’d expected to be brought to a hotel, or a restaurant, somewhere to meet Dick and relax. But that was not the case. Instead, you stood in a large, opulent apartment, in front the The Titans.

You weren’t an avid supers fan, but you’d seen them all on the news. Starfire for one, with her gleaming red-orange hair, Beast Boy, who was currently sporting a red jacket that contrasted nicely with his green hair, a man in a black shirt that looked familiar, but you didn’t know, and Wonder Girl were standing before you. You didn’t keep up with who was officially in their group anymore, but they were all here, so you assumed they at least still cared for Raven, if nothing else.

Dick stood slightly behind them and made his way through them to wrap an arm around your waist as Flash released you. Thankfully, you didn’t feel nauseous. 

Dick was about to say something, but Beast Boy spoke first. 

“It’s so nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand to you. “You can call me Gar.” He smiled genuinely, and you were surprised at the warm welcome. “This is Starfire, you can call her Kory, that’s Conner, and that’s Donna.”

Again, not that you’d know these people since they weren’t famous, but it was still nice of them to tell you their real names. Kory looked at you carefully, her eyes flickering to Dick’s hand around your waist. 

“Well, here I was all excited to do the introductions,” Dick laughed. “Sorry for the surprise change of plans,” he lamented, turning to you. “I just… I told them about you, and they wanted to meet you.”

“There’s still one more to meet,” Barry noted, nodding to a room off the main living room you were gathered in. “Call me when you want a ride back,” he said before speeding off.

You followed Dick into the room. A young girl lay on a bed covered in black sheets. She had bright purple hair and a red gem on her forehead. She smiled warmly at Dick, and it didn’t fade when she saw you. 

“This is her?” she asked him. 

“Yup,” he smiled. 

“You must be something special,” Raven said. 

“Hardly,” you blushed. 

She shook her head. 

“We’ve never heard Dick talk so much,” Raven laughed. “In general. But let alone about a girl.”

“Okay, it’s not like I was monologuing the whole time,” Dick scoffed. 

“It kinda was,” Raven teased. “Anyway, I’m glad he brought you here. I wanted to meet this ‘love of his life.’”

You blinked and looked at Dick who was blushing intensely. Love of his life? You’d only just told him you loved him. Was it really that intense for him too?

“Will you join us for dinner?” she asked. Dick looked at you with a  _ no pressure _ expression. 

“I’d love to,” you promised. 

This was the family you hadn’t known he had. These were the people that knew him best, outside Bruce. You wanted to know them, and to have them know you. Nightwing’s word had extended past just The Flash, you saw, and you owed them a look into who they’d put their trust in.

Raven got out of bed and wrapped her arms around Dick. He seemed to embrace her the way a father would. 

“I’m glad you're okay,” he said softly.

You understood why she’d asked to see him now. You didn’t know how or when they’d met, but you were willing to guess she was much younger, and much in need of someone like Dick.

You followed Raven out of her room and back into the living room. The rest of the crew were lounging, on their phones or talking when you entered. Gar smiled when he saw Raven and got up to hug her. 

“We were thinking Chinese for tonight?” Gar asked you and Dick. 

“Sounds good to me,” you nodded, and Dick agreed.

You were stood in front of Dick, his hands wrapped around your waist, his head resting lightly on your head. He absently kissed the top of your head while the others argued on a Chinese place. Well, everyone except Kory. 

“I think I’m going to pass on dinner,” Kory said after she’d looked at you for a moment. “I’m just not feeling so well.”

You could tell by the tone of her voice that something was wrong. It felt like every  _ I’m fine _ you’d said to Charlie when you’d just broken up with someone.

“You okay getting home?” Donna asked. 

“Fine, thanks,” Kory promised. “Good to see you Dick,” she said as she passed you. Then, as an afterthought, “Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” you said, though you said it to her back as she passed you, not giving you a second glance. 

You could feel Dick tense behind you and wondered what the hell was going on. 

“Okay, well everyone give me their orders ‘cause I’m starving,” Gar said. “And Conner, no getting extra spicy after last time. I don’t care about your Kryptonian insides’ alleged ‘strenth’ the bathroom repair bill would prove otherwise.”

Connor rolled his eyes, but you placed where you’d seen him before.  _ Superboy _ you thought they’d called him. You’d seen one or two incidents. He must be new, you realized. Still in training. 

Still thinking about Kory, you pulled Dick aside into another room once you’d given your order. 

“So,” you said. “You gonna tell me what’s going on with Ms. Starfire? Or do I have to guess?”

Dick sighed and looked a little guilty. 

“We used to date,” he said.

You took a seat on the couch in the small room. 

“Like casual dating or…”

“It was pretty serious,” he admitted, coming to sit next to you. You nodded.    
“And you just whisked me into this situation without telling me I was about to meet your superhero ex-girlfriend because…” you made a motion with your hands to spur him onto giving you a reason.

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely, taking your hand. “I didn’t plan it. I wasn’t thinking. I just got here and… I hadn’t seen them all in so long. And you know, they’re my family. And I want… I want you to be a part of my family, so my brain said, ‘Get her here! Have them meet!’ and then when you did get here… I realized.”

“Is she the reason you said you didn’t date when we met?” you asked. “Did something bad happen?”

He sighed again and nodded.

“It got pretty serious,” he said. “And then… life as a Titan got in the way and it fell apart.”

You took a breath, thinking about this. You were getting pretty serious too. Would life as Nightwing get in the way of that? You bit your lip, too scared to ask the question. But he didn’t need you to. 

“It won’t happen with us,” he promised. “Things are different.”

“How?” you nearly laughed. “No, you’re not really with the Titans anymore, but you’re still Nightwing. You’re still living virtually the same life.”

He turned more to face you and held your hand tightly. 

“I want you to listen to me,” he said. “When I was with her, it was because we were both scared. She was just figuring out who she was, and what her powers were. I was figuring out who I was after Robin, who I was as Nightwing. It was a tumultuous time in our lives. We were like… I mean we were like trapeze artists, but with no swinging, just jumping and falling. And we only had each other to cling to as we fell. And we crashed because of that.”

You let that sink in for a moment.    
“Someone to catch you,” you mumbled. 

“What?” he asked. 

“Something Bruce said,” you responded. “He said that I was someone to catch you.”

“Exactly,” Dick said. He moved his hands to cup your face. “I’m back up there. I’m swinging and catching the bars the best I can, but if I do fall, I know you’re there. And you’ll catch me. And I am always there to catch you. I’m not in freefall anymore. You’re not either. It’s so different with you than it ever was been with her or anyone else I’ve been with,” he promised. 

You knew when he was telling the truth, and this was definitely one of those times. You felt a tear escape, and he wiped it away with his thumb before kissing you. 

“I love you,” he whispered. 

“I love you,” you said, kissing him again. 

You understood now, looking back at how Kory had reacted. You were actually impressed by her. You didn’t think you could have looked at an ex you’d loved like Dick with someone else so civilly. 

There was a knock on the door, and Gar told you the food was here. You slid your hand into Dick’s and followed them out to the dining room. It was quite the spread. Donna sat at the head of the table, and the rest of you sat around. You sat next to Dick. Raven, Gar, and Connor sat opposite you. 

“So, Dick says you run one of the community centers in Blüdhaven,” Donna smiled. 

“Yup,” you nodded. “We do a lot of youth outreach, some senior stuff too. Local classes, stuff like that.”

“Sounds cool,” Gar nodded, mouth full of lo mein. Raven nudged him to chew with his mouth closed. 

“So what are your powers?” Conner asked, smiling innocently. 

Gar pulled his lips into a thin line, Raven looked like she might punch him, and Donna sighed. 

“Oh, I don’t have any powers,” you shook your head. 

He tilted his head to the side. 

“Then were you also trained by Batman?” he asked. 

“Nope,” you laughed nervously. “I’m not a hero,” you said. 

He frowned slightly and nodded, taking that in. 

“Oh,” he said, disappointed.    
“Well, that’s arguable,” Dick said. “I mean, you certainly help the people in Blüdhaven.”

You knew he didn’t mean to, but you felt so patronized in that moment. The rest of the Titans looked embarrassed that Conner had brought it up, which wasn’t helping your feelings of inadequacy. 

“Maybe you could learn how to fight,” Conner offered. 

You didn’t know if he could tell that he’d offset the mood.

“Maybe,” you shrugged, hoping someone would change the subject. Then with a glass of wine in your hand, you offered, “I think my superhero name would be Nightwine.”

You’d said it mostly to yourself, but when the entire table of Titans started laughing, you glanced up. They were nearly in fits, and you couldn’t help but join them. 

“That’s fucking funny,” Donna laughed. 

You couldn’t help but join in, and the air seemed to settle after that. You enjoyed your dinner with them. It felt different than it had with Bruce. While you hadn’t intended to meet all of his family in a few days, you were glad you had. The Titans were nice, if a little intimidating, and while they didn’t care for Dick as a son, they did care for him as a brother, and Raven as a father. It was a family setting you hadn’t felt in a long time, and you were grateful to have been brought into it, even on the edges.

When you’d finished dinner, Dick pulled you aside. 

“Do you want to hang out here for night, or head back?” he asked. “Not that we have to stay in the tower, we could explore a little, maybe get some ice cream somewhere?”

You smiled and nodded. 

“Let’s do that,” you agreed, wanting some alone time with him after being around so many people.

“Alright gang, me and the misses are headed out. As usual, call if you need me.”

They came to surround you, hugging you goodbye. Raven held on tighter than you’d expected.    
“I’ve dreamed of you,” she said quietly while she hugged you. “I see you and Dick together and I know that he’s happier than he’s ever been. So thank you.”

You smiled into the hug before pulling away. She handed you a card with her name and number on it. 

“In case you ever need it,” she smiled knowingly. 

You took it and stowed it away in a safe spot. You felt Dick’s hand slip into yours and he led you away from the group and towards the elevator. The elevator doors closed and you were alone with Dick. 

“So, where’s a good place to get ice cream around here?” you asked. 

“I have a place in mind,” he smiled. 

It was getting late, and you hoped the place was still open. He said it wasn’t far, so you walked. 

“Why did you leave?” you asked. “They seem like… I don’t know, I can tell you fit in there well.”

“I do,” he nodded. “And they needed me at one point, needed a leader. But now they don’t. They can work as a team.”   
“Because of you,” you guessed. 

“They outgrew me as much as I outgrew them,” he said. 

“Growth is good,” you smiled. “And selfishly, I’m glad you left them, because it means you came to me.”

He smiled back and kissed your temple. You came upon a small ice cream store, and managed to get some before it closed. Picking a bench near the shop, you sat down and enjoyed the warm night air. 

“You always ask me what I want to do with my future, but I never ask you,” he realized after a few moments of silence. “I guess I just assumed that you wanted to stay at the center but…”

“Yeah, you know, I’m not sure,” you shrugged. “I love the center for now but… I understand where you’re coming from with deciding your legacy. “There was something from a book I think… ‘ It doesn't matter what you do...so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away,’” you remembered.

“Mmmm,” he hummed happily. “I know what your legacy is.”

You looked at him, curious. He had a knowing grin. 

“What?” you laughed. 

“Those kids,” he said. “Marcus, the others. They’re your legacy.”

“How do you figure?” you asked, unsure how some sweaty teenagers were more like you.

“Marcus, for example,” he said. “Do you think he’s not going to remember what you did for him with that job with your uncle?” he shook his head. “He’s going to go out into the world and repay that ten times over. And guess what that makes him?” he asked. 

“Something that’s like me?” you guessed with a blush. 

“Something that’s like you,” he smiled proudly.

You both finished your ice cream and sat together on the bench, his arm around your shoulder. 

“Rachel said I was the love of your life,” you said quietly, managing to look at him out of the corner of your eye. 

He continued staring straight ahead.

“Does that… freak you out?” he asked, attempting to keep his voice even.

“No,” you answered quietly.

He nodded, still staring straight ahead. 

“It does for me,” he said. 

“Why?” you asked. 

“Because it means so much more if something… happens.”

He finally turned to you, and you saw the seriousness on his face.

“What’s going to happen?” you asked. 

“A number of horrible things could,” he laughed anxiously. “Nightwing or no… I’ve never felt so vulnerable. And that’s not a feeling I’m used to.”

You nodded, knowing what he meant. You knew it hadn’t been long with him, but you’d been through so much so quickly. He knew all of you, and you all of him. 

“I know,” you said quietly. “But… I think it’s worth it. And if anything does happen to me… Nightwing or no…”

“Please… don’t,” he said.

You sighed and closed your eyes for a moment. 

“Just know whatever happens, happy or not happy to us… I love you,” you said.

He sighed, allowing himself to consider those possibilities for the moment. 

“Me too,” he said finally. There was some silence before he asked, “Should I call our train home?”

You nodded, and Barry appeared faster than you’d anticipated. You were both home in no time, and after thanking Barry you were left to your own devices. 

Dick fell asleep first, and you couldn’t help but stay up and watch him. His chest rose and fell, bare to the world, and vulnerable. You wanted to make him stronger, but it just felt like you were making him weaker. You hoped it would get better with time, that you wouldn’t always feel like a burden, an impediment to him. 

Eventually you fell asleep with your head on his chest. You would protect him, this heart that lay beneath you. You would try, anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

The weeks progressed in your new normal from there. When he wasn’t patrolling as Nightwing, he would stay up and research criminals that needed apprehending. That didn’t mean the nights were all research and protrol though. You got your share of attention. 

It was amazing to watch him hover over you, in complete control of his body. His movements were fluid, graceful even. It didn’t seem like he could ever get tired of touching you even in little ways. 

Sometimes in the kitchen when he reached for something, he’d lay a hand on your hip to help him balance, though you were sure he didn’t need it. He would kiss your temple when he got up from the couch to get some water, or wrap himself around you from behind while you were washing dishes. 

It got to the point, too, where you barely went back to your apartment. You went sometimes, usually during the day to check on things, but that was about it.

You used to go at night, when he was out on patrol, as he usually didn’t come back until the sunrise, but you’d stopped doing that. Knowing where he was at night, as proud as you were of him, was still nerve wracking. You watched the news a lot of the time to see if Nightwing’s lifeless body had been found somewhere, but you tried not to. You trusted Dick, trusted the training Bruce had given him. Still, it took a lot out of you on nights when he was back later than he’d said he would be. 

But it was worth it. Not only did you feel like the safest woman in the city when you were with him, you also felt the most loved. 

“Move in with me,” he said one morning, unprompted, over breakfast. “Officially.”

You were wearing your silk nighty that he loved, and you smirked at him over the table, standing up. He watched you, apparently as enraptured by your movements as you were his. His eyes glided down your body as you came to sit on his lap. You ran your fingers through his hair and tilted his head back to kiss him. 

“You sure?” you asked.   
“If it means every morning like this,” he said softly, snaking a hand up your nighty, “Then yes.”

You melded into the contact of his hand on you, and before long you were moaning into his mouth. He picked you up and placed you on the table, pushing the breakfast out of the way to give you room. It wasn’t long before you were both panting, clinging to each other. 

“Okay,” you laughed, as he kissed your neck. “I’ll move in.”

He chuckled and swept you up into his arms to the bedroom for round two. 

***

You woke up early on a Wednesday, as you sometimes did without your body’s permission. Checking your phone, you saw Dick had texted you. 

_ If you’re up before the sunrise, meet me on the roof here _

It read, giving you coordinates to a building within walking distance. You smiled, looking out the window at the dark sky. Before sunrise it was indeed. For once you were happy to have woken up. You changed and headed out, easily making it up to the roof. The roof wasn’t as clean as his apartment building. There were crates and barrels littered around, but it had a nice view of the city. He was there, crouching at the edge of the building with absolutely no fear of the height. He was still dressed as Nightwing, and you couldn’t help but appreciate what that suit did for his body. 

He turned when he heard you, and smiled. 

“You made it,” he said.

“How’d you know I’d wake up?” you asked. 

He shrugged. 

“Sometimes on your period you tend to wake up early by accident.”

You laughed. 

“Sometimes I forget you were a detective.”

You walked over to him and kissed him. 

“I thought we could watch the sunrise together,” he smiled. 

You smiled and followed him to sit near the edge of the building. It was an easy silence, one you didn’t feel the need to fill. The sun rose slowly over the buildings of this place you called home, and you were at peace.

But then suddenly, his body tensed, and he pushed you away from him. 

“Hide,” he said, quietly and quickly. 

Your mind froze, but your body obeyed, finding a large crate to hide behind, just before the door to the roof opened. You saw his whole posture change, standing up taller, puffing his chest out. His expression twisted into a cocky smirk as he looked at the man who’d come through the door. 

“I thought I got all of you,” Dick said. 

The man unsheathed a knife. 

“You’ll pay for what you did to my brother,” the man said. He was much bigger than Dick, and sounded determined. 

“Your brother was hurting a lot of kids,” Dick shrugged. “And I’ve heard prisoners just  _ love _ people like that.”

You wished he hadn’t said that, because it spurred the man on, knife first, diving at Dick.

Dick ducked out of the way of the blade, and got a few punches in to the man’s stomach, but it didn’t seem to slow him down. The man lunged again, lower this time, but Dick just jumped, somersaulting over him. You couldn’t help but be impressed.

And that’s when your alarm went off. You’d woken up before it and forgotten to turn it off. Fumbling, you turned it off. But it took you a second, and the damage had been done. Dick’s worried face was turned too long in your direction, and the man stabbed him in the stomach. You screamed, causing the man to turn away, and this gave Dick a similar opportunity to take him down. He moved quickly, leaving the knife in his side as he came around the man and held him in a sleeper hold until he passed out.

Once he was out, Dick fell to his knees. He coughed and you saw red coming from his lips before he collapsed. 

The early sun was spilling a yellow light onto the mess before you. You rushed to him, cradling his head in your lap as you cried. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you repeated, staring at the knife still in his side. “What do I do?”

“It’s okay,” he said, though blood was coming out of his side and his mouth as he spoke. He coughed again. “Call Raven,” he barely whispered before closing his eyes. 

You fumbled again with your treacherous phone, grateful you’d input the information she’d give you. 

“This is Raven,” she answered almost immediately. 

“It’s (Y/N),” you said frantically. “Dick’s hurt. Bad. I need… He said to call you… I… Please,” you begged. “Please help.”

“On my way,” Raven said. 

You held Dick’s head in your hands, trying to get him to wake up, but it was no use. You didn't want to touch the knife for fear of making things worse. He was still breathing at least, you saw. That chest, rising and falling. 

In cloud of black, she appeared, along with Superboy. She was looking stronger than she had when you’d visited weeks ago. She assessed the wound quickly. 

“I’ll need you to move,” she said. You did as she asked.

“Is there anyone else we need to take care of?” Superboy asked you. 

“No,” you answered absently. “I mean, I don’t think so.”

You saw him looking at the building beneath you, and he seemed to be assessing it somehow. He nodded. 

“All clear,” he said. 

Raven knelt down next to him. You clasped your hands over your mouth to keep from crying too loudly. You could loose him, you realized. This might be  _ it _ . You remembered your speech in San Francisco, about being okay no matter what happened, but you never thought something would happen to him. Your fears had come true. He’d been hurt because of you. 

Raven pulled the knife out of his side with surprising ease, but your stomach churned at the amount of blood that went with it.

She quickly placed her hands over the wound and closed her eyes, mumbling something unintelligible. 

A faint glow appeared around the wound, and the blood stopped flowing. She stayed for a few moments longer before nodding and stepping back. 

“He’ll be fine,” she announced. Then, to Superboy, “Can you grab him please? And when you’re done, bring that scumbag to the police,” she said, nodding to the man who’d stabbed Dick.

Superboy nodded and grabbed Dick before flying off the building. 

“We’ll meet him at your apartment, okay?” she asked. All you could do was nod, but your head felt so heavy. “He will be fine,” she promised. “I’m glad you called me.”

“Me too,” you muttered before following her down the stairs. 

You guessed she could have teleported you as she had when she’d arrived, but you were sure she knew you needed a moment, some fresh air and a little movement. And she was right. After you walked back to the apartment, you felt slightly better. He would be fine, she’d assured you multiple times. And once you saw him laying in bed, with a little more color in his cheeks, you started to actually believe it.

Raven stayed with you for an hour or so before heading back. There wasn’t much more she could do for him, he just had to sleep and let her healing settle in. You called Bruce, but Alfred answered. 

“Master Wayne is out, I’m afraid,” he said. “What may I help you with?”

“It’s Dick,” you said, trying to keep your voice even. “He got hurt. He’s fine… I think… Raven healed him, I just thought you should know.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. 

“I shall let Master Wayne know,” he assured you. “And (Y/N),” he said. “It’ll be okay.”

You were reminded of what Dick had told you about his nightmares. About how Alfred had comforted him. You felt that same comfort, stemming from the authoritative voice of this butler, and took a deep breath. 

“I’ll call with any updates,” you promised, before saying your goodbyes.

You waited with Dick in the quiet bedroom, not daring to leave his side. Your stomach twisted with anxiety. Your stupid fucking alarm. How could you have been so dumb? If Raven hadn’t gotten there when she did… this could be so much worse. What would  _ Batman _ have thought of you if something had happened to Dick?

And as if you’d summoned him with your thoughts, you felt a change of light in the room, and looked over to the doorway. He was standing there. It was the first time you’d seen Batman in real life, well, in his suit anyway.

“B-Bruce,” you stuttered, standing back from Dick so he could look at his son. 

“Are you alright?” he asked you. 

“Me?” you laughed. “Yeah, just stupid, that's all.”

He took off his head piece and rested it on the table, frowning. 

“What happened?” he asked. 

You explained how Dick had invited you to the roof for the sunrise, how your alarm had distracted him, and been the reason he got stabbed. 

“So yeah,” you said, unable to hold back the sobs any longer. “It was completely my fault.”

Bruce crossed the room and enveloped you in a tight hug. He was slightly larger than Dick, and it felt like you were being swallowed into a shadow. It was comforting, though, even if it felt undeserved. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “Accidents happen. Dick should have been more cautious than to invite you into our world, even if it was just for an hour.”

“I want to be with all of him,” you explained, stepping away from the hug. “But now I’m afraid… I’m afraid he won't want me in any part of it.”

Bruce pressed his lips together. 

“You were there,” he said. “To catch him.”

You looked up at him, still sniffling. 

“I… I guess,” you shrugged.

“I know,” Bruce smiled softly. “And that means everything to him.”

Dick started to stir, and in the moments you looked away and back, Bruce had gone. You blinked, unsure why he left just as his son was waking, but sort of thankful that you got a moment alone to talk.

You came over to the bed and sat on the edge, watching Dick as he woke up. The wound in his side had healed into a thin scar, joining countless others. 

“What happened?” he asked. “The last thing I remember was… Looking up at you.”

You tried to speak, but couldn’t. Instead, you threw yourself into his arms him and sobbed into his chest. He seemed more than happy just to hold you, and buried his face in your hair. 

“I’m so sorry,” you sobbed. 

He pulled you away slightly to look at you. 

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“It was my alarm that distracted you. I woke up before it and… I just forgot it was on.”

“I was the one who missed a whole bad guy in the takedown from the night before,” he said. “I was the one who invited you to a dangerous place… Nightwing’s side.”

You shook your head. 

“But Raven saved you,” you said. “I owe her a debt.”

“You don’t,” he promised. “It’s kind of an on going ledger that always manages to even out,” he said, managing a smirk.

“It should have been me,” you said, feeling like you’d run out of tears. “I always thought it would be me.”

He cupped your face in his hand and shook his head. 

“I would bleed for you any day,” he promised. “I’d rather it be me anytime.” He shifted, as if getting ready to say something important. “But you’re right… Statistically, it would be you. And that’s why… I’m going to give up being Nightwing.”

You blinked, unsure if you’d heard him right.

“No,” you said. 

“No?” he laughed. “This isn’t really up for debate.”

“I think it should be,” you said, pulling away slightly. 

He sighed and looked at you. 

“I knew going into this that it would be selfish of me. I knew telling you would put you in danger. And regardless of today, as I wouldn’t make the mistake of bringing you into the field again unprotected, there is still immense probability that someone else would hurt you to get to me. And I don’t want that. I’ve been selfish long enough.”

You shook your head, and closed your eyes. An image came to you. That day you’d gone to the bank alone. The rain. The man who’d attacked you. 

“Do you remember when we first met?” you asked. “And I don’t mean… you… I mean Nightwing.”

He nodded, unsure where you were going with this.

“I was so  _ sure _ I was going to die… or be seriously injured that day by that man. If you hadn’t shown up… Who knows what would have happened.”

“I will always be there for you,” he promised. “I don't need to wear the suit for that.”

“Not me,” you shook your head. “Everyone else.”

He paused, as if he’d forgotten there were other people in the world for a moment. 

“I don’t want to live in a world where there are people out there on those streets who felt like I did that day. I don’t want to live in a place where there isn’t… you… to save them.”

He pressed his lips together and ran a hang through his hair.

“Do you have to be so goddamn selfless all the time?” he asked, somewhat seriously.

You shrugged. You hadn’t meant to be, it was just how you felt. 

“You know what I think?” he asked. You shook your head. “I don’t think I’m Nightwing anymore.”

You cocked your head to the side, unsure what he meant. 

“I think…  _ we’re _ Nightwing.”

He smiled then, and you waited for him to explain more.    
“Ever since I met you, I’ve seen things differently,” he said. “I… fight harder because I know that when I’m done, when I’m bruised and and broken, and the baddies are in jail… I have you to come home to.”

You smiled softly and took his hand to hold in yours. 

“I want to make this city safer, and not for me… For you, and those kids, and everyone that I’ve met here. You’re as much a part of Nightwing as I am,” he said. 

You blushed, honored that he felt that way. 

“We are Nightwing,” you nodded, testing it out. “One of us wears tights a lot better though.”

He let out that laugh that you loved so much, that you felt so honored to be able to bring out. When he stopped laughing he brushed your cheek with his hand and cupped your face. 

“I am so lucky,” he said quietly. And he was looking at you, really looking, but it almost sounded like he was talking to himself. Like somehow his internal thoughts and feelings had escaped into words. You kissed his hand. 

“We’re both lucky.”


	9. Chapter 9

You were on your way home with Dick after a day at the center when a call came in. The caller ID on the car’s console read: Gary Holland.

“Hey” you said, nudging Dick with your arm as he stared at the console for a concerning amount of time. 

He jumped, adjusting his steering once he looked back at the road. Shaking his head for a second, he answered the call.

“Gary,” Dick answered.    
His tone was difficult to read. He sounded almost excited, but his face would have suggested otherwise. His eyes were hard, far away, his posture stiff, brows furrowed. 

“Dicky!” a low, booming, voice sounded through the car’s speakers. 

“Good to hear from you,” Dick said in the same strange tone. “You have me and my girl in the car here.”

“Your girl? For the night or…” he trailed off and laughed.

Your arched an eyebrow as Dick cast an embarrassed looked your way. 

“No, my girl for… My permanent girl,” Dick laughed awkwardly. “I haven’t heard from you in…”

“I know, I know, we’re both bad at this whole phone call thing, huh?” 

“Guess so,” Dick nodded. 

“Listen, I’m in town, and wanted to see if you wanted to grab a drink.”

“Oh, I’m not in Gotham anymore, I’m in--”

“I know,” he laughed. “I keep tabs on ya.”

“Stalker,” Dick jested, sounding more relaxed. 

“Want to meet up tonight? You can bring the permanent girl if you want,” he chuckled softly.

Dick looked at you to see if you’d be up for it. You still didn’t know who this guy was, but shrugged and nodded. 

“Sure,” Dick responded. “Text me a time and place.”   
“Okay, okay, will do,” Gary said excitedly. “Bye, Dicky.”

“Bye,” Dick muttered, ending the call as you pulled into the lot. 

“So, why do you look like Bambi seeing the ghost of his mom?” you asked. 

Dick laughed half-heartedly and nodded. 

“That’s a fair description,” he said, getting the door for you. 

You walked into the apartment and he went to go grab some bourbon. He poured two glasses. 

“I haven’t heard from Gary in a while,” he said. “He was from my days in the circus.”

“Oh,” you muttered, remembering what he’d said about it being hard to talk to anyone from that time. 

“He almost adopted me, actually,” Dick said, taking a sip. 

“Damn,” you said. “What happened?”

Dick shrugged. 

“He knew I’d be better off with Bruce. Not much money in Strongmen anymore.”

You nodded. 

“And you just lost touch?”

“It was hard, you know?” he asked, not quite looking at you. 

You closed the distance between you and nestled into his chest. 

“I know,” you nodded, explaining without saying that you knew exactly what he meant and he didn’t need to elaborate.

He kissed the top of your head. 

“Why do you think he wants to see you now?” you asked. 

“Old times sake?” he guessed. 

You saw Dick finished the bourbon and took his glass from him. 

“We should probably cool it if we’re going out in a bit,” you noted. He nodded, as his phone buzzed with the information of where to meet. 

He looked at it for a moment too long, and you put your hand on his, lowering the phone.   
“You can cancel,” you nearly whispered. 

“No, Gary’s a good guy,” he said. “I should see him. Maybe it won’t be so bad.”

You pressed your lips together and nodded. 

“Well, just squeeze my hand or something if you want to leave and I’ll… I don’t know pretend to pass out or… give a lame excuse like I have to wash my cat.”

This earned you a small smile, and you kissed his cheek before walking to the bedroom to get ready.

You weren’t exactly nervous to meet Dick’s friend. Yes, he was from an important time in Dick’s life… but he was hardly Batman. You didn’t know what to expect with Dick, though. Would he have a great time, or get triggered by seeing a man directly associated with his parents’ deaths?

You slipped into a little black dress and did your hair and makeup, moreso to see Dick’s drooling face than anything else. 

“I thought this might perk you up,” you teased, exaggerating bending over to put on your heels. He chuckled softly, pulling you to him. 

“You always do that,” he said, kissing your neck.

“Come on, we don’t want to be late,” you smirked, pushing him away gently. 

He still had fire in his eyes, but you managed to get the two of you out the door and into the car. The bar wasn’t far, and you parked and went in. It was classier than you’d expected, with soft music from a live jazz band in the back and a nearly full bar. There were booths along either wall, and you saw someone waving to you from one of them. 

When he stood, you saw just how big he was. He was at least a foot taller than you, and while you were sure he was half the size he was back in the day, he could still put some body builders to shame. 

“Dicky,” he grinned. 

Dick let go of your hand to hug his friend. He seemed fine, happy even.

“Gary,” he smiled. “Good to see you.”

He introduced you, and the three of you sat down.

“So what brings you to the Blüd?” Dick asked. 

Gary shrugged happily. 

“Just thinking about old times,” he said. “Remember when Ronnie convinced that woman that her dead husband was tap dancing for them, because the mechanics on her ‘ghost table’ were wonky?”

Dick laughed. Not the laugh that you got, but close. A good laugh. 

“Ronnie was our ‘psychic,’” Dick informed you. “But she always had to make up stuff for when her ‘magical’ equipment malfunctioned.”

“She was good on her feet,” Gary laughed. 

“I’ll go get us some drinks,” you offered, feeling like you wanted to give them a little space for a moment. They gave you their orders.

It took a little while to get the bartender’s attention in the busy bar, but you managed after a bit and brought the drinks back over.

You arrived at a table full of laughter, and smiled. You were glad this was going well. Distributing the drinks, you sat down and listened to even more outlandish tales of the circus. 

“Still,” Gary said, after the laughter had died down after a story. “You seem like you still keep in great shape. You still do any acrobatic type stuff?”

For some reason, you felt the air change. Gary seemed friendly enough still, but something had changed in his eyes. They felt calculating for some reason. 

“I still work out,” Dick nodded. “Do a little boxing sometimes, stuff like that.”

“You gonna be stronger than me soon,” Gary laughed. “Wouldn’t want to be against you in a fight.”

“I try,” Dick shrugged.

“I mean, what, you could probably handle like, four, five guys at a time?”

Dick laughed. 

“I suppose, if I were so inclined.”

That feeling of unbalance was amplifying. Gary hadn’t really touched his drink, you realized. You and Dick were both a few in, but he just kept taking tiny sips. Weird, you thought. Maybe he didn’t want to spend money tonight?

“And you and Bruce?” he asked. “Still close?”

“He stays in Gotham for the most part, but I visit sometimes.”

Gary nodded, and it felt like he was taking notes. Sometimes in you told you that you needed to get out of here. 

“Hey, Dick?” you asked, leaning in and nudging him. “What do you say we head home? I got an early day tomorrow.”

He nodded, his hand lightly resting on your thigh.

“Sounds good,” he said. 

“You okay to drive?” you asked. He nodded. “Sorry to end the night so early,” you said to Gary. His gaze seemed still too intense for you. “I hope we can do this again.”

He nodded, and then broke into a smile as Dick looked at him. 

“Let’s do this again soon, Dicky,” he said. “I’m in town for a few more nights.”

“Definitely,” Dick said.

You paid your tab and said your goodbyes. The car ride was a quiet one. You bit your lip, thinking you must have been crazy. 

“What?” Dick asked when you were silent for so long. 

“Nothing,” you muttered. 

He laughed. 

“What?” he repeated.

“It’s just… I don’t know, something seemed off about him,” you said. 

“Off?”

“Yeah, like not at first, but later on. It didn’t feel natural.”

“I didn’t notice,” he admitted. 

“It was like he was testing you,” you said, thinking about his tone. “Like he was gauging you for something.”

“I think you’re inheriting my father’s paranoia,” Dick smiled softly as he parked the car. “Not everyone is out to get us.”

He looked at you earnestly, but you couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t taking you seriously. Your intuition had been right a lot of the time, especially when he was involved. 

“I don’t think you should see him again,” you said.

“He’s only in town for a few more days,” Dick shrugged. “I doubt another drink will kill me.”

He opened the door to the apartment and you grabbed his arm. 

“Please,” you said. “I just don’t trust him.”

Dick scoffed and shrugged you off. 

“You don’t have to coddle me,” he said, a little sharper than you’d anticipated. 

“I’m not,” you answered almost as harshly. “Something’s off, Dick. I’m just worried you’re blinded by whatever fond memories you have.”

“So you want my memories of the circus  _ only  _ to be my parents falling to their deaths then?” he asked.

You could tell by his face that he regretted it when he said it. It came out so bitter that you couldn’t help but flinch. Of course you didn’t want that, and he knew it. But his tone made it feel like he no longer trusted that. 

“Fine,” you muttered. “Whatever.”

You turned and headed for the guest room. You slammed the door and leaned against it. This was your first real fight, you realized. You had thought you were on the same page as him, and you had been. It just felt like he didn’t trust you. You could imagine what it must be like, to be scared of reaching out, to do it and feel some joy, and then be told it might not be real joy.

But still, the way he’d snapped at you, the bitterness to his voice, it shook you. 

He didn’t bother you for the night, and you were glad for it. At least he knew you needed space. You left for the center before he woke up, and he didn’t come in for the day.

“Trouble in paradise?” Charlie asked as he found you staring out a window not drinking your coffee.

“How could you tell?” you asked. 

He leaned against the door frame and smiled softly. 

“I had the same look after my first fight with my husband,” he said. “Congratulations, your first big milestone.”

You nodded and laughed half-heartedly. 

“Sometimes I think he just doesn’t listen if he doesn’t agree. And so far… We’ve agreed. So it’s been fine.”

“But now you don't,” Charlie nodded. “You’ll get around it,” he promised. “Just takes some talkin’.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll have to do that tonight,” you sighed. 

“Well, I know something to distract you until you do,” Charlie said. 

You spent the day with Charlie repainting a long neglected room. It helped distract you, the physical work. It centered your mind. 

You’d been together for a while now, and he’d never snapped at you, you realized. He must have been feeling horribly scared or vulnerable to do such a thing, and you’d just stormed off. Instead of feeling like the victim of the fight, you suddenly felt very guilty. 

You’d resolved to talk to him when you got home, but all you found in the apartment was a note on the counter. 

_ Off to see Gary tonight, don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Sorry about last night. Talk later - D _

Sighing, you set the note back on the counter and poured yourself a drink. The written half-apology on the note at least made it seem like you’d be able to talk about it without him being defensive later, but you were bummed that he’d still gone out with Gary. You knew you weren’t the one who’d been there for him when his parents died or offered to take him in, but you thought he’d trusted you on a whole different level. Maybe you’d misjudged it.

You settled in on the couch to watch some tv to pass the time and eventually fell asleep.

When you woke, it was to the apartment door opening. Bleary eyed with sleep, you looked towards the door. Something wasn’t right with his posture. You rubbed your eyes as you stood, and saw he was clutching his side. Red droplets fell from him, staining the floor.

It finally registered to you that he was seriously hurt. 

“Dick,” you breathed, rushing to him. “What happened?”

Had he gone out as Nightwing? Where was his suit then? Then you remembered that he’d met up with Gary. 

“Well, you were right,” he said through clenched teeth. 

“What?” you asked, guiding him to the kitchen and grabbing the first aid kit. 

He had multiple wounds in his side and you paused your conversation to stem the bleeding and stitch up what you could. When the bleeding had stopped, you moved him to the couch after putting some towels down. 

“What was I right about?” you asked. 

“Gary,” he sighed.

His eyes were closed as he laid on the couch. You sat at the edge of the cushion holding a cold compress to one of the larger wounds. It looked like it pained him to speak.

“I went to go meet him where he said and I got jumped. About six guys. I only didn’t get fully shot because I heard their guns before I saw them.”

You cringed, not happy you’d been right. 

“You need to lie down,” you said, deciding to worry about him first and Gary second. “Does he know where you live? Are we safe here?”

“We’re safe,” he promised. “He doesn’t know, and I wasn’t followed.”

You nodded and helped him to lie down on the couch, propping a pillow under his head. His eyes were closed and you thought he might already be asleep before you kissed his forehead and stood. 

You got some paper towels and water and gently cleaned around the wounds as he slept. You couldn’t help but wonder why Gary would have betrayed him. You knew something had been off, but you didn’t know why. By all accounts, Gary had been like family at one point so what had changed? You realized you didn’t know enough about the situation to deduce anything further, and so you were simply left with your wonderings for a few hours. You tried to busy yourself, but you just found yourself staring at him, making sure he was still breathing.

The bleeding had stopped, and that seemed promising at least, though you had no idea of the internal damage. Usually it was Nightwing’s activities you had to worry about, but it turned out Dick Grayson’s past could be equally as dangerous.

You ended up falling asleep in the corner of the couch, only rising in the morning with the sun. Dick seemed to wake at the same time, as you saw him blinking and yawning when you opened your eyes.

Shifting and coming to his side, you watched him carefully. 

“How are you feeling?” you asked. 

He winced as he moved, and you helped him sit up. 

“Like I got jumped by six men,” he groaned.

“Why would Gary do that to you?” you asked. 

Dick sighed and took a moment. 

“While I was fighting, I heard the guys freaking out about how Zucco wasn’t going to pay them if I got away.” He looked at you carefully and said, “Zucco is the mob guy who ordered the hit on my parents.”

Your heart froze, and you blinked. 

“Shit,” you muttered. “Why would he want you dead?”

“Because I’m the one that put him in prison,” he smirked half-heartedly.

“For your parents?”

“No,” he said. “For organized crime. But he knew who I was, what my motivations really were. My guess is it took him since the arrest to drum up outside support, raise the funds to pay the goons. He doesn't have too many friends anymore.”

“But why would Gary help him?” you asked.

“If I had to guess? Zucco’s got something on him.”

“Fuck,” you muttered. “What now? They’ll come after you again, won’t they?”

“I would assume so, yes,” he sighed. “God, I can’t do anything right, can I?” he laughed bitterly. “Here I was thinking you’d only be in danger if Nightwing was careless.”

“Hey,” you nudged him carefully. “Don’t say that. You did everything right. You put a horrible man in jail, it’s not your fault he’s still terrible from behind bars.”

He nodded, but didn’t seem to have really heard you. 

“So what’s next?” you asked. 

“We figure out what Zucco has on Gary,” he said. “Help him out of it. Meanwhile I’ll contact the prison and tell them to put him in solitary until they figure out how he was able to get those communications out for a hit.”

“Hey,” you said, seeing his gaze get farther and farther away. Your voice pulled his attention back to you. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

The sighed and closed his eyes. In the midst of this chaos you’d almost forgotten you were in a fight before he’d left.

“I’m sorry for not trusting you,” he said. “I just… It felt so good to have a connection with someone from the circus again, and I was just… blind, I guess,” he said.

You kissed his forehead and brought his gaze to meet yours.

“I know,” you said. “I was trying to be your blindspot detector.”

“Well I have a new scar to remind me about that,” he winced, looking down at one of the larger wounds. 

“How about we get some breakfast, and then see what we can do about that?” you asked. 

“Sounds good,” he answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just made up random circus ppl cuz i haven't read anything with them in it, and was too lazy to rewatch that ep of titans :)


	10. Chapter 10

After a large breakfast and some stretching, Dick was on his laptop researching. During the morning, he’d tracked down where Gary was staying. 

“What are you thinking?” you asked, watching his brows furrow. 

“I think I started this as Detective Dick Grayson, and I should end it that way.”

You nodded, seeing the logic in that. 

“I’ll do a little recon tonight,” he said. “I’ll see if I can talk to Gary, find out if he knows anything about where their hideout is.”

“Do you think it’s safe? What if they have eyes on him?”

“Oh they definitely do,” Dick nodded. “But I’ll be careful.”

You couldn’t help but glance at his torso where you knew many fresh wounds lay below his shirt.

“I promise,” he said, leaning in to distract you with a kiss. “You know I’ll always make it back here to you.”

You bit your lip, wanting to believe that.

“Come here,” he said, sliding his laptop off of his lap and pulling you onto him.

You straddled him cautiously, not wanting to hurt him.

“I’m not so fragile,” he promised, bringing you to sit comfortably on top of him.

You frowned, unsure. He chuckled softly.

“I’m not going into this one alone,” he assured you. “Well, after tonight. I’ll bring it to the police. Have them help me raid the place, make sure those guys aren’t on the streets. I can even testify since it was me they attacked and not Nightwing.”

“I wish I could come with you,” you muttered, running your fingers through his hair. 

“I could put you on coms,” he suggested, brightening slightly.

“Like you were in my ear with Mike?” you asked. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Only this time you’ll be safe and sound back here.”

You bit your lip thinking. It was better than nothing, you decided. 

“Okay,” you managed a small smile. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

He nodded and smiled back. Your smile faded as you realized something. 

“I’m sorry by the way,” you said. “That you couldn’t have that one good memory of the circus.”

He sighed and you kissed his forehead. 

“There’s still a few,” he smiled softly “Just none that are still living I guess. But hey, who needs good memories, right? If I didn’t have a tragic backstory, you wouldn’t love me so much.”

He smirked that smirk you loved so well, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I do love you,” you answered seriously. “ _So_ _much_.”

His features relaxed into sincerity and he looked at you intensely. 

“Me too,” he responded. “So much,” he added with a smile.

You smiled softly into the kiss that followed until he picked you up and brought you to bed. After some very careful intimacy, you fell asleep again for a little while.

When you woke, Dick was getting dressed. 

“Just going to do a little more research before I head over tonight,” he said. “I’ll have the coms ready.”

You’d texted Charlie you wouldn’t make it in for the day, claiming to be sick, so you had nowhere to be but with him until he left. You watched him work from over the book you were reading. You loved watching how serious he was, how focused. It was impressive. The day passed quickly, and under the cover of nightfall, Dick left, dressed in black, to go try to talk to Gary.

As promised, he kept you on coms. He had to be pretty quiet, but all you wanted to hear was him breathing. That was all you cared about. He seemed to make it to the building okay, and you heard various things he must have been climbing onto before a tap on a window.

“He’s alone inside,” Dick told you. “He’s coming over now.”

The window slid up and Dick greeted Gary. 

“I’m so sorry, man,” Gary said, his voice thick with guilt.

“I know,” Dick nodded, though with less sympathy. “Can I come in?”

You heard some shuffling and it was quiet again.    
“I’m guessing you didn’t help him for no reason,” Dick said. “What do they have on you?”

You heard Gary sigh and sit down on the couch. 

“They have my daughter,” he said. “They have Cynthia.”

Your heart almost stopped. While it had nearly gotten Dick killed, you understood now why Gary would have done it. 

“Does she have her phone?” Dick asked. 

“Yeah, they’ve been using it to update me with instructions and proof of life.”

“Hey, (Y/N)?” he asked.

“She’s on the line?” you heard Gary ask. Dick must have nodded. “Tell her I’m sorry too.”

“You heard that?” Dick asked. 

“Yeah,” you responded.

“I need you to do something for me,” he said. “I need you to track Cynthia’s phone.”

“Yikes, okay, you’re going to have to walk me through that one,” you breathed. 

“Of course,” Dick said patiently. 

He walked you through how to get into his laptop, and how to track the phone. Soon enough, you had a point on a map. 

“She’s not far from you,” you noticed, seeing his tracker nearby. “It looks like it’s an abandoned building. I’ll text you the address.”

“Thanks, love,” he said. “We got her,” he said to Gary. “But I’m going to do this the right way. Bring in the cops. They’re good guys, and I need the backup.”

“Okay,” Gary said. “I… I trust you, Dicky.”

You cringed at the nickname now. It seemed tainted despite his understandable betrayal.

“I’ll go to the station now,” he said, to you both. “I’d rather end this tonight than wait until the morning.”

“I’ll come with you,” Gary said. 

“Alright,” Dick nodded. “I parked around the block.”

You stayed on the coms for the rest of the night, listening to Detective Dick Grayson give orders and lead a team of Blüdhaven’s finest to the building. You heard them surround it, break in. You heard gunshots and Dick’s constant reassurance that he was fine. You heard a little girl scream, and then you heard Dick comforting her. You heard him pick her up and return her to her father.

You were almost glad you were alone in the apartment, because you were crying. It was one thing to know he was secretly a superhero, another to see the bloody results of those activities, but it was another thing entirely to witness it, even just through audio.

When he got home, you almost knocked him over with your embrace. He chuckled into the hug as you buried your face in his chest. 

“I’m so proud of you,” you said when you managed to pull yourself away. 

“I’m proud to have you in my ear,” he smirked, kissing you softly.

“So you think this is over?” you asked. “For now?”

“For now,” he agreed, walking with you over to the couch. “Zucco doesn't have anyone that would help him for nothing anymore, and I’d wager he’s out of cash for now, not to mention the added security measures and added jail time he’ll be facing.”

“I’m sure there’s something else waiting around the corner,” you frowned, more thinking out loud than anything else. When you looked back at Dick he looked guilty. “What?” you asked. 

“I’m sorry that my messy life has… become your messy life,” he said. 

You shook your head. 

“I knew what I was getting into and I don’t regret it,” you promised. “I just… It’s just hard knowing we might never know peace.”

“We might not,” he nodded. “And… I wouldn’t blame you now, or in the future, if that gets… old. If you don’t want that anymore.”

You moved to straddle him on the couch and held his face in your hands. 

“I promise it will never get ‘old,’” you said. “Because I love you. And I want to be with you. End of story.”   
He looked at you with those bright eyes of his, and you could see the happiness behind the sorrow and disappointment of the day. 

“And you saved a little girl today,” you added. “That is always a bonus in my book.”

“Definitely,” he agreed. “Although I can’t really ever look at Gary the same way again. I know he was just saving his daughter but… he knows I’m a cop and he didn’t trust me enough to help him that way from the beginning.”

“It’s okay to outgrow people, to let some people fall away into your past,” you said. “It’s those good memories, the ones that you can still see your parents’ smiles in, that are important to hold on to.”

He nodded and nuzzled against you.

“It’s funny, going back and being with the guys again,” he said, after a moment. “Almost makes me miss being a detective.”

“Almost?” you asked. “Why don’t you go back?”

He considered this, and you slipped to the side, settling into the couch.

“I took a sabbatical to figure out what I wanted to do, how I wanted to be in the world. And now, with you, I feel like I’m finally in the right place. I don’t know if I can go back to where I was.”

Something hit you in that moment, and you sprang up from the couch. 

“I may be able to help with that,” you said excitedly. “Give me… an hour,” you said, watching his perplexed expression.

You ran to your room and grabbed your laptop, spilling all your thoughts onto a page. In less than an hour you emerged from the room with your laptop. Dick was where you’d left him on the couch, and he looked up as you entered. 

“Okay,” you said, handing the laptop to him. “Read this and tell me if it’s a good idea.”

You watched him read through your words. His expression was neutral at first, but as he got the idea, a smile spread across his face. When he was done, he put the laptop down and came to kiss you. 

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a genius before?” he asked. You shrugged happily. 

“You like it?” you smiled. 

“I think it’s a great idea,” he nodded. “I’m going to bring it to the chief. And I’d like you to come with me,” he said. 

“Oh, I… sure,” you laughed. 

And you did. On Monday you brought what you’d written into the police chief’s office and ran through it with her.

“A community outreach officer?” she asked with a hint of a smile.    
“Yeah,” you nodded. “A lot of the kids know and love Dick already,” you explained. “But I think having him there in an official capacity, the uniform and all that will really help. I’m sure you know that things in this city are… not great, and a lot of the kids, especially in my section of town could really benefit from knowing a cop. Wether it’s to help deal with the pressures from the gangs, the drug epidemics, or whatever. He can even give them career advice if they want to join the force.”

She nodded at all your points and smiled softly at Dick.   
“We’ll miss you as a detective,” she said. “We have missed you.”

“I think this will suit everyone better,” he assured her. “And I can still consult on cases as needed.”

“I’m sure there’s still some details to iron out, but I think this is a great idea,” the chief said. 

You beamed at Dick and spent the ride home talking about possible positive outcomes of this position. You were both so passionate about the idea, you talked through it all day at the center, and even got some ideas from the kids.

This seemed like a new chapter in your lives, and you were excited for it. The possibilities with Dick seemed endless. It was the first time in your life that you were looking forward to the future instead of just struggling with the present. And you had a hunch that he felt the same way.


	11. Chapter 11

When you got home from the center, Dick was on the phone. You kissed his cheek as he talked and grabbed some water.

“Yeah, she just got home, let me ask,” he said into the phone. Then, turning to you, “Want to go to Bruce’s for dinner? He’s got some friends over for a low key dinner, he thought we might want to come.”

You looked at yourself and realized you needed a shower.

“Can I have an hour to get ready?” you asked, as it was already five.

“Yeah,” he laughed. 

“Then sure,” you smiled. 

You kissed him before heading off to get changed. While you were tired, and not super in the mood for socializing, you couldn’t deny Bruce. First of all, you wanted him to like you, and if that meant meeting his other rich friends, so be it. At least you’d get to see Alfred, and maybe he’d even let you help him cook.

You took a shower and managed to look somewhat decent at the end of the hour. You always felt like you were playing dress up when you went out with Dick, or when you went to Bruce’s house. You didn’t know if that feeling would ever go away. Apparently it was convincing enough to make Dick nearly drool when he saw you. 

He’d changed too, but a little more casually than you. Still, he swept you into his arms when he saw you and kissed your neck, knowing better than to get your freshly applied lipstick on his lips.

“Mm, maybe we just skip dinner,” he breathed, his hand dipping lower on your back.

You chuckled, pushing him away. 

“Come on,” you said. “We have a fancy dinner to attend.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s fancy,” he laughed. 

“It’s at a mansion, that automatically makes it fancy,” you decided.

“So be it,” he smiled.

The drive to Gotham was quiet, and you listened to music as you sped along the highways. You didn’t think the driveway and the view of the oncoming mansion would ever get old to you. It was, and always would be, stunning.

Weirdly, there weren’t any other cars in the driveway when you approached, and you half-heartedly joked that the guests must have come in on a private jet, to which Dick only gave you a secretive smile. You eyed him with curiosity as you approached the front door.

“Ready?” he asked excitedly. 

“What’s up with you?” you laughed. 

He seemed overly excited for this dinner and you weren’t sure why.

Until the doors open.

And you fainted.

***

“Is she alright?” you heard a lovely female voice asking before you opened your eyes.

Blinking, you realized you were on a couch lying down. In front of you was Dick, who was squatting next to the couch with an amused expression.

“She’s fine,” he promised. 

He helped you sit up on the couch, and as you did, you were reminded why you’d fainted.

“(Y/N), this is Wonder Woman and Superman,” he smirked. 

You blinked again and wondered if you were actually asleep. 

“You can just call us Clark and Diana,” Superman said casually. 

They were in costume, and so, minus the cowl, was Bruce. You hit Dick playfully in the arm. That’s why he’d been so weird on the front steps.

“We were just finishing handling something, and I thought you might want to meet them,” Bruce said with a small smile. “Based on your comments when we last met.”

You laughed to yourself, remembering being in awe that Wonder Woman might have sat where you had sat. And now they were here in front of you.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” you said, getting to your feet somewhat steadily. 

“We actually were expecting you a little later, and have a few more things to go through,” Bruce said. 

“Oh you boys go deal with it,” Diana said, coming to stand next to you. “I wish to meet this warrior who stole Richard’s heart.”   
“Actually, we could use your insight, Dick,” Clark nodded.

Dick nodded at you and glanced at Diana.    
“Go,” she promised. “Sweet Alfred said not to be later than seven, so be quick.”

The boys nodded at her command and left you alone with the Amazon princess. Her presence was overwhelming, her eyes intense. Her gaze was difficult to meet. It felt like she could see through you. 

“You must think I’m rather weak,” you laughed nervously. “Fainting immediately.”

Her brow furrowed and she shook her head. 

“I do not,” she said. “That one moment does not define you. I think you are quite strong.”

“What do you mean?” you asked. 

She took a breath to think about it. 

“Being with people like us, like myself and Superman, Batman, Nightwing,” she started, “That takes a certain strength. The worrying, the shared burden of a secret. It’s not nothing,” she smiled softly at you. 

You shrugged and blushed. 

“I never really thought about it,” you said. “I just… It’s a part of him, all of this, and I love him, so I love this. If he didn't have this he wouldn’t be him… and I’m not sure I’d love him the same.”

“Mmm,” she nodded. “It is wise to know what is really part of a man and what isn’t.”

After a few more moments, the boys returned. Dick came over to you and kissed your temple as he slid an arm around your waist. 

“Should I expect a one way ticket to Themyscira anytime soon?” he asked. 

You nudged him playfully. 

“Not one way,” you teased.

“It’s almost seven, let’s not let Alfred’s hard work get cold,” Diana smiled, gesturing for the group to venture to the dining room.

You sat next to Dick, across from Diana and Clark, while Bruce sat at the head of the table. Alfred had laid out a lot of food, and you all loaded your plates. As you ate, Clark caught you staring at him.    
“Sorry,” you laughed, managing to chew and swallow. “I don’t mean to stare. It’s just so  _ new _ , I can’t really believe I’m in on all this.”

“It’s alright,” Clark chuckled. “Lois was the same way when she found out who I was. She’d just stare at me. Of course, I’d stare at her too, but she didn’t notice me at first.”

You laughed, relieved he didn’t think you were annoying. The name Lois rang a distant bell. You knew she was a pretty famous reporter, and had written a lot about Superman. You gathered from the way he spoke that they were an item. Maybe you should do some more superhero research so you’d know what was happening with all of Dick’s friends.

“She’s a reporter right?” you asked, making conversation. 

“We both are,” he smiled. “But she’s the better one.”

“Right, right, secret identities,” you muttered. “Must get kind of dull just writing at a desk when you can fly.”

“It’s a nice balance,” Clark said. “A balance I hear Dick has found working with you at the center.”

“Actually, we have some news on that,” he smiled, glancing at you. “I’m going back on the force as a community outreach officer, based at her center.”

Bruce smiled, and you saw a proud twinkle in his eye. 

“So I can get that balance while still helping out my friends at the force, and my new friends in the community.”

“That is wonderful, Richard,” Diana smiled at him.

“Yeah, well it was her idea,” he added. 

“I am not surprised by this,” Diana nodded. You blushed.

“I think it’s a great idea too,” Bruce added. Then, with the tone of a father, “And Nightwing?”

Dick glanced at you briefly, and you weren’t sure what he was going to say.

“I will still patrol,” he promised. “But my hope is through this position I can gain a better insight into the troubles of the city and work them out from an official capacity.” He paused and looked down at his plate. “But maybe that’s too idealistic.”

“Better to aim high,” Clark smiled at him. Dick cast him an appreciative nod.

You hadn’t really had time to discuss that aspect of the new position, but it did make sense. You’d briefly talked about how his body couldn’t sustain being Nightwing forever, but you hadn’t legitimately thought about what it would be like when he did retire from that. Maybe this position would make that time arrive faster, or at least provide a reduced amount of time that his alter ego was needed.

The rest of dinner followed with lighter conversation, and the two guests graciously allowed you to ask them a hundred stupid questions. You restrained yourself from helping Alfred clean up this time, though it made you overcompensate by thanking him while he was cleaning up and after the meal was over. You asked him for his recipe for the chocolate cake that was served for dessert and he gladly gave it to you.

You wanted to stay later, but Dick was meeting with the chief early the next morning for a final talk about the position and its duties, and you wanted him to be well rested. It was strange to have part of The Justice League waving to you as you left a mansion. It wasn’t exactly what you thought you’d be experiencing when you thought about your adulthood.

But here you were, speeding away in a Porsche owned by a superhero who was the love of you're life.

You smiled coyly at him as he drove. 

“Thanks for telling Bruce to invite us over,” you said. “This was one of the best nights ever.”

He smirked, keeping his eyes on the road, but slipping his hand into yours.

“I thought you’d like that.” You nodded, kissing his hand. “How come you don't faint every time you see me in tights?” he chuckled. 

“Oh I do, inside,” you promised teasingly. “Are you excited to start tomorrow?” you asked. 

“Yeah,” he sighed. “It’s been a while though,” he added. “Dealing with all the red tape and the politics. I didn’t miss that bit.”

“You’ll be a little more independent though,” you noted. 

“True,” he smiled softly. “And I get to hang out with you.”

“You’ve been doing that,” you laughed. 

“Yeah, but now I get paid for it,” he winked.

You chuckled. The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, and the two of you made it an early night.

You woke up with Dick in the morning, but watched him get dressed from the bed. You had a bit more time until you had to go to the center, so you allowed yourself the luxury of watching him get dressed. 

He caught you staring while he was fixing his tie in the mirror. 

“Like what you see?” he asked teasingly.

“Eh,” you shrugged, and waited.

As expected, and hoped for, Dick turned suddenly, his eyes big, and launched himself onto the bed. You screamed and giggled as he kissed you and grabbed you, twisting you over him so you laid on top of him. You kissed him gently. 

“You messed up your work,” you noticed, looking at his loosened tie.

He brushed the hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear. 

“Eh,” he shrugged in the same tone.

You giggled and slid off of him. He stood up and took a look back at you. You’d gone to bed in one of his shirts, and you could tell by the way he was looking at you now that it did something to him. He bit his lip and shook his head, almost to himself, and went back to the mirror to fix his tie.

He left as you started getting ready, telling you he’d text you when he was on the way to the center. You left not long afterwards and went about your routine as usual. Around ten he told you he was heading over. It was perfect timing really, as it was a Saturday and there were plenty of kids around.

You’d told the kids what was happening with Dick, but no one seemed too interested in any of the aspects of the job. They just wanted to know who was going to coach the teams and do the other things Dick had volunteered for. 

When he pulled up in the cop car, got out, and stood before you, you had to physically push your jaw up to close your mouth. 

He wasn’t in a full uniform, but he wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark pants with his badge secured to it. A thick strapped gun holster kept his shirt tight to his body. You knew he hated guns, but it was probably regulation around here that cops should carry.

“Um, ma’am, you’re going to have to put a wet floor sign out here for all that drool you’re getting on the floor,” Dick said, pointing to the invisible drool.

You punched him in the arm and laughed.

“Shut up,” you rolled your eyes. “Goddamn do you look good though.”

“Yeah?” he asked quietly, taking a step towards you.

“I mean… I’m not crazy about the guns, but I wouldn’t be mad if you wore that holster later. All I’m saying,” you shrugged as you turned and walked into the center with him. 

“Noted,” he smiled mischievously. 

***

You were a little surprised when none of the kids really talked to Dick about anything for the first week. It wasn’t just your center that he visited, and he did notice some success in the other centers. It was strange, as he knew the kids around here better.

It wasn’t until the second week that someone finally approached him. Dick told you about it over dinner.

You were getting closer to getting used to going to fancy places with him. He paid for so much for the both of you, and even when you saved up and offered to take him somewhere nice, he wouldn’t have it. You felt quite pampered and spoiled all the time, even if you only let him take you out like this once in a while. 

Still, the conversation felt a little out of place in a restaurant that served people who make upwards of 100k a year.

“So you know Tyrell, right?” he asked. 

“Yeah, junior in high school right?” you asked. He was on the basketball team.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “He asked me how to become a cop.”

“Really?” you asked. “I assume quietly and out of the range of hearing of anyone else.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I know what kids in this city think of cops, and that they only tolerate me here because they know me. I didn’t expect any of them to want to be one.”

“So why does he?” you asked.

“I guess for his brother,” Dick smiled softly. “Said he wants to set a good example.”

“I’m glad he thinks the police force is a good example,” you said, knowing full well a lot of the kids hated the cops. Some with good reason. “Wonder why,” you winked at him. He chuckled softly. 

“Well, there’s no way he can manage to pay for college so I’ve reached out to Bruce.”

“You’re going to pay for his degree?” you asked. 

“We’re setting up a scholarship, yeah,” he nodded. “Not just for him though. It’ll be for this section of Blüdhaven. Anyone who wants to go into any kind of law enforcement. Bruce said they can manage about ten scholarships a year.”

You nearly choked on your steak. 

“Ten a year?” you asked. “Full rides?”

He nodded with a smile.

“Goddamn, I know Bruce is a billionaire, but sometimes I forget how much money that actually is.”

He laughed and nodded like he understood the feeling.

“Hopefully it’ll expand from there, but right now that’s what we got.”

“That’s awesome,” you smiled. 

“And I’m hoping to reach out to some of my contacts in the law enforcement ring,” he added. “Maybe get some people to sign on to do some mentorship stuff, maybe let some kids shadow them, see if it’s something they’d want to do.”

You smiled proudly at him, and when you hadn’t spoken for a while, he looked at you, head tilted to the side.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s just… I had this idea for this thing for you, but I had  _ no idea _ you would take it and run with it like this. I mean I knew you’d run with it and make it amazing but… This is just… it’s wonderful, Dick,” you said. 

He looked truly surprised by your admiration.

“Can I just say…” he said, hesitating, ruminating on his words. “I think we make a good team?” he said. 

You weren’t sure why he had taken so much care in these words. But he elaborated.

“I mean… You know where I come from. I ran the Titans, I’ve seen The Justice League in action. But you… and I… we are… better.”

You laughed. You couldn’t help it. 

“How?” you sputtered. 

“Okay, maybe not better in the traditional sense but… I’ve had partners and teams in the past and there’s always something… off? I guess? But with you… we purely make each other  _ better, _ ” he said.

“We do,” you smiled. “In a lot of ways.”

You hadn’t thought about it directly, but you realized it was true. He made you more aware of your surroundings, of people in general. He made you tactical, practical. He made you sort of an expert stitcher of wounds by now. He’d also made you appreciate what it meant to be a support system, part of a bigger notion of heroism. 

But you weren’t sure how you made him better. He seemed pretty great all by himself.

“What?” he asked, when you started playing with your food while considering this.

“How… exactly… do I make you better?” you asked. “I mean when you said it… I agree. But I only really think you make me better… and I’m not sure--”

He cut you off with a laugh that you hadn’t heard before.

“Are you kidding?” he asked. 

“N-no…” you answered.

“You… You make me so much better than… Oh my god, you don’t realize…” he took a second to gather his thoughts. “You make me…  _ me _ ,” he said seriously. “You make me more caring, more passionate. When I didn't know what I was, or what my legacy should be, you showed me. It’s through our community. It’s through helping as many people as you can no matter what. You make me better because you never give up, so I never want to give up.” 

You were a tad gobsmacked, and it took you a moment to recover. As you did, a memory surfaced. 

“Do you remember our first date?” you asked, leaning back in your chair as you watched the smile creep over his face. 

“You mean the dinner that I forced you into, then eventually managed to convince you to kiss me, and then revealed my deepest secret to you?” he laughed. “Yeah, I vaguely recall.”

You chuckled softly. 

“I was just thinking about how far we’ve come,” you said. “I didn’t trust you as far as I could throw you when we first met.”

“I know,” he laughed. 

“And then I didn’t trust  _ myself _ ,” you added. “I thought there was no way I was reading you right. No way you would actually flirt with  _ me _ .”

He frowned slightly at this, and leaned forward to place his hand on top of yours.

“But then you kissed me,” you smiled. “And you told me… everything… and… I’m just proud of us,” you said. “I’m proud of how far we’ve come. Together.”

“That’s some year anniversary speech,” he smiled. You froze. “Oh my god, you didn’t realize it was our anniversary.”

You pressed your lips together trying not to laugh. 

“You forgot!” he exclaimed, pointing teasingly at you. You hid your face in your hands. 

“I’m so sorry,” you said. “I… did. I just did.”

“Wow, well, good to know I mean so little to you after all,” he feigned offense, turning away from you. You chuckled and leaned across the table, placing your lips next to his ear. 

“I’ll make it up to you,” you whispered. You saw his eyebrow arch and his cheeks flush as you began describing the night you had in mind.

He got the check almost immediately and drove faster than you’d ever seen back to the apartment. You followed through on your description and then some, and afterwards, as you laid panting together, you apologized again. 

“I am sorry,” you said. “I didn’t realize it had been a year.”

“It’s okay,” he laughed. 

“I guess I just… nevermind, it’s corny.”

He shifted to look at you better.    
“What?” he asked. You were already blushing before your admission. 

“I guess I just… assume we’ll be together forever, so a year really doesn’t seem like anything, you know? Like we have our whole  _ lives. _ ”

He smiled softly, his head on the pillow. He was so beautiful then, just as always. But more so because of the way he was looking at you: with pure adoration.

“That is corny,” he teased. 

You blew a half hearted raspberry at him and rolled your eyes.

He shifted to wrap himself around you. You laid on your back smiling as he laid his head on your chest, and draped himself across your body. You ran your fingers through his hair absently as you thought about the year you’d had. 

Dick had brought so much into your life. He’d brought laughter and joy, but he’d also brought secrecy, danger, and even pain. It wasn’t the fantasy man you’d had in your head all these years, but it was real. 

And you’d meant what you said. You truly did think this was it. He was  _ the one _ , as they said. And it was both exciting and scary to think what that might mean for the rest of your life. You might climb to great heights together. You might fall. But no matter the ups and downs, you had him, the man now fast asleep on your chest. You had someone to catch you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this sort of seems like a natural stopping point for me for now. hopefully I'll return to this some day, but for now I'm putting it to rest. (keeping the chapter # as a ? in case I return though!)
> 
> thanks for the love and support, it means the world ❤️❤️


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